The Adventures of Spaceman and Timegirl
by LizzeXX
Summary: River Song, best friend of LJ Smith, the son of the Doctor and his Link Evy Daniels, first met her dearest friend in Luna University. What were they like? How did they become friends? What shenanigans did they get up to? These are the stories of their friendship and how it grew over time and space. Based on my Lunar Cycle series.
1. First Impressions

A/N: Howdy! So, given the positive feedback I received when a possible LJ and River spin-off collection from my series The Lunar Cycle (The Hidden Lady of Time to The Beginning of a Family) was proposed, I have decided to write a series of collections for the Doctor and Evy's son LJ ('Little Jonathan' Ianto Smith, on Earth, Sigma to his parents) and his best friend River Song. I would recommend reading The Lunar Cycle to understand some of the references that will pop up throughout this collection, to understand the relationship between LJ and River.

~8~ is a scene break

Imagine LJ to look something like James McAvoy, but with slight differences, to be described in this chapter.

I'm not entirely sure when I will be able to update this story as it will be mostly original chapters, but I am going to try for, at the very least, twice a month. If anyone has suggestions or ideas for adventures or moments they'd like to see played out between LJ and River (that fit with my canon) just drop a review and I'll consider them for chapters :)

Disclaimer…I do not own Doctor Who. If I did, LJ would be real!

Enjoy!

~8~

First Impressions

River Song sat before a desk of the Luna University, in the year 5123, having just come from Berlin on the eve of war and a rather traumatic experience involving two very important Time Lords. She glanced up at the Earth through the domed glass ceiling before turning her attention to the old man walking towards her, "So then, tell me, why do you want to study archaeology?"

She smiled, "Well to be perfectly honest professor, I'm looking for a good man and a rather impossible woman," she held her TARDIS themed diary tightly in her hands.

The man chuckled, "Aren't we all," he looked down at the papers in his hands, "Well, everything seems to be in order. Welcome to Luna University Miss Song..."

"River," she corrected quickly, "Just River's fine."

The man nodded and stood, looking around the room before calling out, "Oi! You there," River looked over her shoulder as a young man looked up from where he was organizing files to point at himself, "Yes you," the man laughed, "Would you be so kind as to show Miss...River," he corrected, "Around our fine establishment?"

The young man nodded as River stood, smiling, clutching the diary, ready to begin her studies. She walked over to the young man, taking a moment to study him the closer she came. He was tall, with a slightly muscular build, features just a hair away from being chiseled, and brown hair that stuck up a bit. She noticed that he had light blue eyes and a slightly button-like nose that should have been out of place on such a masculine face but seemed to work. He was dressed in baggy blue jeans and a simple long-sleeved red shirt.

He straightened up as she came closer, his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels as he waited. He nodded towards the door and turned, leading her out, "So," he began as they wandered through the halls, "You're Miss River?" he grinned cheekily.

"River Song actually…" she began, when he snorted and she glared at him, "And what's wrong with that?!"

"Sorry," he tried to sober himself, but just laughed, "But…_River_? Seriously? Were your parents hippies or something?"

"No!"

"It's just…_River Song_? Don't get too many of those do you? Or did you make it up? You made it up, didn't you? You're like a secret agent, aren't you? What, is River Song a codename _based_ on your real one? Are you really Harmony Brooks?" she gave him an unimpressed look, "No…Jingle Mist?" then glared at him, "Ok…definitely not. Oh, I know, Melody Pond!" he grinned widely, but slowed and turned when he noticed River had suddenly stopped dead behind him, a look of shock on her face. He smirked to himself before laughing, "No, can't be that either. Don't worry Riv, you actually look like a River to me."

She blinked, her shock fading with his laughter, "No…" she said, cautious now, "Definitely not a secret agent."

He shrugged, "Oh well, I just sort of guessed that because you look interesting."

She started walking again, "Do I?"

He nodded, "Oh yeah! What are you here for anyway? What's your major? I bet it's something fantastic like…"

"Archaeology."

He stopped this time, "You're _kidding_ me. Please, tell me you're _joking_."

She frowned, "No. I'm here to become a doctor, maybe even a professor, of Archaeology. Why? What's the matter with Archaeology?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, too quickly if the narrow-eyed look she was giving him was anything to go by, "Nothing at all."

Her gaze narrowed more, "Got a problem with archaeologists?"

"Not me, no," he shook his head, starting to walk again, quickly.

"Then what was with that look?!" she ran after him.

"Nothing. Really Riv," he stopped to look at her, "_Nothing_. It's just…my parents…they um…they don't think much of Archaeology. My dad likes to point and laugh at archaeologists," he paused to think, "And then mum tends to smack him upside the head for it."

"I like your mum," River smirked.

He smirked as well, "So does dad."

River shook her head, the two of them continuing on, "So, if your parents are 'against' Archaeology, what are you here for?"

"Quantum Physics."

"Seriously?" she eyed him.

He nodded, "Oh yeah. I think it's fascinating to see what the latest theories on time travel are. I mean, you've got that Time Agency, with their silly little Vortex Manipulators, jumping all over the place. My godfather's actually a Time Agent, well, _I_ say he _is_, but technically I think he retired…or went rogue…something like that. My mum actually managed to make a Vortex Manipulator of her own, but I think dad accidently broke it, he does that a lot, break things. Mum used to tell me about this toaster he tried to…" he cleared his throat, seeing her eyeing him oddly and realized he'd been rambling, "Anyway, I think it'd be interesting to know the science behind it eh?" he grinned.

"So you want to be a Time Agent then?"

He grimaced, "Oh God no! Can you imagine? Travelling around the Universe with those little…_space hoppers_. It's just _embarrassing_," River laughed, "No way, no. I want to travel the Universe in an _actual _time machine."

River shook her head, "And how are you going to do that? Build one out of spare parts? Yeah, they've probably got a manual in the library for that."

He laughed at her sarcasm, "Oh no, don't you know? Manuals are _rubbish_, at least that's what dad always says. He tends to disagree with them and then they end up getting thrown away. But it's alright, mum's pretty good at fixing things that dad breaks anyway…well, except that toaster. Besides! Everyone knows the _best_ time machines are _grown_, not _built_."

"And who told you that?" she asked, unable to help thinking about the TARDIS, what she'd learned about it.

"My parents!" he beamed, "They're quite the experts on the subject."

"I'm sure they are," she nodded her head skeptically, his parents sounded like nutters…well, his _father_ did at least. His mother must be a saint to put up with him.

"Speaking of subjects," he skillfully changed the topic, "Do you think we'll have any classes together?"

She eyed him, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, my mum always said that if you can make one _truly good_ and _lasting _friendship in your life, you're doing amazing," he rubbed the back of his neck, "That's actually why I applied here. Dad and I think the Quantum Physics program is complete rubbish, but…I just had a feeling that I'd make that sort of friendship, find that sort of friend, if I came here."

River blinked, sensing something in his words, "And you think that might be_ me_?"

He shrugged, "Only one way to find out eh?"

"I doubt it," River shook her head, starting to fear a little bit for the man's sanity, they'd only _just _met and he saw them being lifelong friends, "I'm in the Archaeology program, you're in Quantum Physics…I don't think they overlap very much."

"Ah, but my minor does."

"And what's your minor?"

"History of course! I can't go whizzing about time and space without knowing the history I'm about to land in can I? What if I change something that's supposed to happen and end up altering the fate of the human race?! What if I…accidently step on a butterfly or something?"

River laughed, "How on Earth would stepping on a _butterfly_ change history?"

"I haven't the faintest," he remarked promptly, "But what if it did? I'd need to be prepared. Mum says you should _always_ have a backup plan."

She nodded, "Your mum sounds very smart."

"She is."

She considered it, "I suppose we _will_ see each other around then."

"Good," he smiled, "I'm glad Riv."

She stopped, "Why do you keep calling me that?"

"What, Riv?"

"Yes. My name's RIVER, not Riv."

He shrugged, "I can't give my best friend a nickname?"

"I'm not your best friend."

"Says you," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes, "I've known you for _five minutes_!"

"So?" he asked, "First impressions are made in the first ten seconds."

"And you think, from your first ten seconds with me, that I'll be your best friend?"

"I _know_ it," he gave a sly smile.

"And I know you're _completely_ mad."

"Runs in the family I suppose. I mean my mum's pretty sane, dad's a madman though, sort of balance each other out they do."

"Funny…" she eyed him, thinking of how she'd been raised, what she'd been raised to be, "Seems to run in mine as well."

"See!" he beamed, "We're two peas in a pod, you and I."

"Sure," she patted his shoulder jokingly.

"Oh come on Riv," he smirked as she glared at him for calling her that, "Give us a chance yeah? You never know, we might end up _best friends_. Oh!" he suddenly cheered, making her jump, "We can partner up in History! We can help each other with our assignments and homework and projects and preparing for tests and when we graduate, probably at the same time, we can go off and travel in time! I'll 'build' my time machine and you can control where we go! Just imagine, not having to _dig_ through history but _see_ it actually _happen_ right before your eyes. What a team eh? You pick the place and I get us there. Space and Time, I'll be Space and you be Time, ours to see. Spaceman and Timegirl we'll be. Best friends, travelling the stars, seeing the Universe turn in front of us, seeing time unfold before our very eyes! We'll…"

His mouth was suddenly covered by River's hand, "Do you EVER stop talking?" she asked him, though she was smiling.

Any other person would have probably been severely disturbed by what he was rattling off, all these plans that he was making, having only known someone mere minutes…but…she WANTED that. She wanted to see everything he was talking about, experience it. She wanted to have the sort of friendship where she could help someone and be helped in return, depend on someone, share those experiences and even those little everyday things. And here was this boy, whom she barely knew, offering just that.

He pulled her hand away from his mouth, grinning sheepishly, "Sorry. I get that from dad. The gob that wouldn't stop."

She laughed, shaking her head as she took her hand back, "How about this…" she trailed a moment, blinking, "What's your name again?"

He laughed, realizing he'd forgotten that this River hadn't met him before, "LJ. LJ Smith."

She nodded, "Well, LJ, how about we finish the tour and _then_ you can ramble all you want about these adventures we'll have during lunch? How does that sound?"

He beamed, "Sounds like the start of a beautiful friendship Riv."

She rolled her eyes at the nickname, "We'll see."

LJ smiled as she turned and walked away, "YOU will," he said quietly, already knowing that the woman heading down the hall was his very best friend in the world as he was hers…or he _would be_, one day.

"Come on LJ!" she shouted.

He laughed and jogged down the hall after her.

A/N: This collection is going to be about River and LJ, probably focusing more on their time at Luna University, at least till after Series 7 is over because I have something planned for The Angels Take Manhattan that I don't want to spoil in this series. So far, my plan to begin this series is to do a small collection based on time, for example…the first chapter is First Impressions, the second might be something like Second Chances, the third…Third Time's The Charm or something similar, and so on. After that I might consider fleshing out the episodes with River in them as I mentioned that LJ was always lurking in the background, so I'd like to write a 'behind the scenes' version of the episodes based on him and what he's doing while River's facing Weeping Angels or the Silence and all. By the time I finish that, Series 7 should be done and I'll do some of their own adventures through time and space :)

This series is also going to explore how LJ and River built up the friendship they have by my The Graduation of River Song chapters. I hope you liked their (River's) first encounter. Cover to come :)


	2. Second Glance

A/N: In the Lunar Cycle universe, I've made it a Gallifreyan tradition that when a child reaches a certain age they can select a name or title for themselves. This chapter will reveal LJ/Sigma's chosen name...I hope you like it :)

~8~

Second Glance

River Song sat in the canteen of Luna University, at a small two person circular table, her best friend LJ sitting before her, eating a pudding cup. She rolled her eyes both at him and at the atrocious decorations around the room. Everything was decked out in pinks and reds, well, it _would_, it was Valentine's Day after all, at least on Earth, but as this was Luna University, based on Earth's moon, it typically took part in Earth traditions and holidays. As a result the canteen had been transformed. There were pink hearts dangling from the ceiling, the windows tinted pink, red cloth over all the tables, with electric candles set before them. Everything had been turned red or pink, from the uniforms of the dinner ladies, to the trays and plates, even the food was colored! It was far too over the top for either of them to enjoy. She supposed though, that they could weather through it, just this once, it was, after all, the last Valentine's Day they'd have to endure at the University. They'd be graduating in a few months as doctors in Archaeology and Quantum Physics, quite the achievement, his parents were very proud of both of them.

However…something _did_ catch her attention as she glanced around disdainfully at the room. At first she didn't notice, but upon a second glance she saw that there was a girl, sitting at a four-person table, with flaming red hair and chocolate brown eyes, twirling a strand as she blatantly stared at LJ as he absently ate his pink pudding.

She smirked and looked back at him, "J," she whispered, using her own nickname for him. He rolled his eyes at her playfully, knowing that she only called him that in retaliation for him calling her Riv all the time. According to her, he was clearly not 'little' anymore so why keep calling him 'little' John.

"What Riv?" he asked, smirking as she rolled her eyes in return.

"Look over there," she said, subtly nodding to the side, towards the table.

He raised an eyebrow, scooping a glob of pink pudding into his mouth as he glanced over, frowning when he saw the red-haired girl quickly look away, blushing. He turned back to River, shaking his head, "What about her?"

River rolled her eyes, she could see his father's obliviousness shining through right then, "J, she's eyeing you."

"I can see that," he nodded, it was obvious the woman was eyeing him, "And?"

She shook her head, "And…go talk to her!"

"Why?"

"She clearly fancies you!"

"Riv," he nearly whined, rolling his eyes.

"J," she countered in the same tone, dragging it out, smirking, "It's Valentine's Day on Earth!"

"And we're not on Earth," he reminded her.

"That's no excuse," her eyes started to narrow.

"Yes, well, I'm from Gallifrey."

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"There is no Valentine's Day on Gallifrey."

"There is no Gallifrey either!" she snapped.

LJ's jaw tensed and he sat back in his seat, crossing his arms, the pudding forgotten. He didn't storm out, like he very much wanted to, because he'd promised. They both had these personalities…both usually too flirty for their own good, but when something set them off their tempers could rival their flirt. They'd had a terrible row once, hadn't spoken to each other for _weeks_, before they'd both finally apologized to each other at the same time. After that they'd promised to never storm out, never part angry, but to stay and hear the other out no matter how much they might not want to.

River winced as soon as the words came out of her mouth, regret filling her. It was a soft spot, a touchy subject for LJ, for his parents as well. She should have known better than to bring that up.

"J…I'm so sorry," she breathed, tears in her eyes when she glimpsed the pain in his.

He was silent, staring at her, before taking a breath, "I know there's no Gallifrey anymore," he said quietly, "Mum and dad…" he shook his head, "You have _no idea_ how much it hurts them to know that, how much it hurts them to know that I'll _never_ be able to experience life there save for the Replica Room."

River nodded, thinking of the room Evy had made for the Doctor as a Christmas gift once, a room that showed different areas of Gallifrey, letting the person who entered feel as though they were really there.

"It hurts me too," he added after a moment, "Because I feel their pain as though it were my own."

She nodded again, she knew that as well. It was a Time Lord trait, they were just…connected. They had a shared knowledge, a shared code, a shared pain…everything the Doctor and Evy knew, felt, thought, experienced, LJ was privy too as well when he'd been born. He may have never set foot on Gallifrey, but it hurt him just as much to think on their lost homeworld.

"I've grown up celebrating Gallifreyan holidays," he reminded her, "I've celebrated Earthen holidays as well, and other planets but…"

"That's just it," River cut in softly, "You _have_ celebrated Valentine's Day, I've been there when you did, and you know your parents _love_ that particular holiday," she smiled a little when she saw him starting to grin, his parents could be rather embarrassing on Valentine's Day, ridiculously in love with each other they were. And that was just it, they were _so_ in love, so _happy_, she just wanted _him_ to be that happy too, "So why are you always so against actually talking to girls on Valentine's Day? Go over there," she nudged his leg with her foot, "Flirt! You know you want to!"

"I really don't though," he shook his head, though he still had a slight smile on his face.

She scoffed, "You're the son of _the Doctor_, the godson of _Captain Jack Harness_…you'd flirt with anyone."

He laughed at that, "I only flirt with you Riv."

She rolled her eyes, the easy camaraderie between them returned, "I'm aware."

"Because if I flirt with anyone else they'll see too much in it," he continued, growing just a bit more serious, earning her full attention, "They'll think I fancy them back if I flirt…"

She frowned, she HAD noticed that he didn't really 'get his flirt on' with other girls, not like the open flirting he regularly did with her, "And you don't want that?"

He shook his head, sighing as he uncrossed his arm, taking his pudding cup up again, looking at it as though it were the most interesting thing in the world, using his spoon to dig for treasure at the bottom.

River frowned, reaching forward to put her hand on his arm, making him lower this spoon, "J…why _don't_ you fancy anyone?"

He sighed, "It's not that I don't. I mean, I really _don't _fancy anyone, right now, I mean it's not that I _can't_ fancy anyone," he paused, trying not to ramble, trying to _really_ get his point across, "I just…look, there's three things," he glanced over at the girls once more before shaking his head, "They're humans."

River raised an eyebrow, "And what do you call me?"

He smirked, "Human plus."

She shook her head, "I'm as good as human," she reminded him, her hand moving to take his own, "You flirt with me."

"But I don't _fancy_ you."

"I don't fancy you either," she smirked, getting him to smile for a moment before he sighed.

"Look at them Riv," he remarked, "If I went over there, and said hello, and flirted like you want me to. What if I _did _end up fancying her? What if I _did_ fall in love with her? What then?"

She blinked, not understanding, "You'd be happy and in love," she frowned, "What's wrong with that?"

"She's _human_," he stressed, before leaning forward, resting his elbow on the table, seeing that River wasn't following, "I'M not."

Her eyes widened and she realized what he was trying to make her understand, to remember that he was a Time Lord. He acted and looked so much like her that it was so easy to forget he wasn't technically human.

"I fall in love with her, great, I'm happy…for a time. But then in fifty years, when she's a little old woman and dies and I still look just like this…I'm heartbroken. I live with broken hearts for the rest of my life."

"Broken hearts can mend," she commented lightly, squeezing his hand.

"How?" he scoffed, "When I find another brilliant girl who I fall in love with? And when _she _dies? What then River? I'd just be setting myself up for a never-ending cycle of pain and loss."

She swallowed hard, he rarely _ever _used her full name, only when he was being very serious.

"And that's not even the main reason," he sighed.

She frowned, "What is?"

He looked at her, "Mum."

She shook her head, "What does your mum have to do with anything?"

He sighed, "Mum found dad. She's his Link. What if…somehow…my Link's out there too?"

River squeezed his hand again, knowing this was even more of a touchy subject, "J…the chances of that happening…"

"It happed for dad," he cut in, "He found a Time Lady, his LINK, _after _the war. It should have been _impossible_ but…"

"But that's your mum in a nutshell," she nodded, catching onto his hope, "And that's just it J…that's your _mum_. She just _barely _escaped. Your parents have been searching for Time Lords for ages, if…if they _haven't_ found any by now…"

"If there's one thing mum and dad have taught me," he looked at her, a sad smile on his face, "It's to live in _hope_," she gave a tight smile and nodded, knowing the chances truly _were_ impossible, but not wanting to say any more and crush the small hope he had, "And _that's _why I can't start anything with someone else. Especially not a human, 'cos Riv…I_ know_ what my mum went through, dealing with dad and his feelings for that Rose woman. I…_can't_…do that to my Link."

"She might not be a romantic one though," River pointed out.

"Mum used to tell me that, before she Linked, she felt, deep down in her hearts, that if she found her Link, it would be a romantic one. Dad said the same and you KNOW that he didn't think he'd _ever _find his Link, but he _still _felt like if he ever _did _it would be romantic."

She nodded, "And you feel that too."

He nodded, "I do. I _really_ do. IF my Link IS out there somewhere…I can't hurt her like that."

River gave him a small smile, when a thought struck her, "You said three reasons."

He smiled, "Caught that did you?" she rolled her eyes, "You."

She blinked, not expecting that, "Me? What about me?"

"You're my best friend Riv. Like you said, human plus, you understand me better than those girls," he nodded back to the red-head, "Ever can or ever will. I can _talk_ to you. You_ get_ me. We can talk history or physics…" she rolled her eyes at that, he'd managed to talk her into a minor in Quantum Physics, stating that if they were going to travel in time when they graduated, she ought to know the basics of how they were doing it, "Any woman that could pull me away from you would have to be remarkable, and that's not them," he nodded back at the table, "So forgive me if I don't give any of them a second glance."

She smiled lightly, thinking on his words, before looking at him again, knowing he'd hate what she was going to say, but knowing she _had_ to get it out there, "I'll die too, one day," she reminded him gently, squeezing his hand one more time, "I'm human."

"Don't you dare," he pointed a warning finger at her, both of them knowing he was trying to be joking but too serious, "Not any time soon. I've got too much planned for you."

She smiled gently, "Oh right, our adventures."

He nodded, "Just a couple more months Riv and it'll be you and me."

"Spaceman and Timegirl," she laughed.

"Nah, by then I'll use my title, like dad," he smiled, "The Captain, in the TARDIS, with River Song."

She shook her head, smiling, "Only two problems with that."

He nodded, "I know, no TARDIS."

It would take thousands of years to grow one, even if he'd planted one as a child he'd still have centuries to go and he _was_ as impatient as his father.

"There's that," she nodded.

"What else is there?" he shook his head.

"There's no way in the Universe I'm going to be your _companion_."

She knew what a companion meant. She knew what happened to them. She'd heard about the companions of the Doctor, how they left, or got left behind, or forgot him, or moved on, or they died...Evy though, she'd seen the woman go to the ends of the Universe to keep in contact with the Doctor's companions, with her _friends_. She didn't think LJ would _ever_ do that to her, just leave her behind, but...she knew there had been companions who felt that way before, and that it happened to them. A companion...was _not_ something she wanted to be...

"Of course you wouldn't," he squeezed her hand in return, "Riv, you're my _best friend_, you'd be my _partner_. We're a _team_, always."

She smiled, "I like the sound of that."

"Good," he nodded, before glancing at his empty pudding cup, "What's say we get out of here, get some food that _doesn't_ look like a cupid threw it up."

She laughed, getting up, "What, are you gonna cook for me?"

He nudged her, "Sure, why not? Valentine's dinner."

She shook her head, he loved cooking. Apparently it was something he'd shared with his mother when he was younger, cooking together. Which was lucky for her as the food at the University wasn't exactly the greatest.

She glanced at him as they made their way out, his arm lazily draped over her shoulders, "Where did you come from?"

He smirked, "Well, see, my mum made my dad this Christmas gift and, to show how much he loved it, he…"

She elbowed him in the ribs, laughing, making him stop, "I meant YOU," she shook her head, "It's like pulling teeth to get your dad to have a decent, meaningful conversation, and you just spent the last ten minutes pouring your heart out."

He laughed, "I know I look...and sound...and act...an awful lot like dad," he tapped her nose, "But I DO have a bit of mum in me."

"Thank God for that," she laughed, "The Universe couldn't take _two_ Doctors running around."

He squeezed her shoulders, "You should take a trip through time and see me when I was younger," he told her, "I was like a little him. I _literally_ used to run laps around the console of the TARDIS, pushing random buttons to see where we'd go or if I'd almost blow a hole in the Universe."

"Oh God, THAT I have to see," she cracked up, "That'll have to be our first trip when you build that time machine of yours."

He let out a loud laugh at that, an ongoing joke of theirs. He couldn't imagine travelling the Universe in anything but a TARDIS, yet both of them knew that it would take far too long to grow one. They had debates about which form of time travel would work for their plans.

Whatever they decided…

River had her heart set on a Vortex Manipulator...as a _backup_ of course.

His mother had taught her well.

A/N: How many of you are feeling for LJ right now? I really wanted to ram home that LJ really is like a blend of the Doctor and Evy, I believe one reviewer pegged it perfectly…he's like a mini-Doctor with a long streak of Evy :) I also wanted to add River calling LJ just 'J.' He's got a nickname for her, so she's given him one too. We'll definitely find out where River's nickname comes from in TATM. But as for his title, he's selected 'The Captain.' Sort of fits with his whole 'let's go have adventures and explore' plan from his first day with River eh?

Also, just wanted to add that this story won't be in any linear timeline. As in the show with the Doctor (and Evy) running into River at different points in her timeline, this will be a collection of random points in LJ and River's. Here it is near enough to my Graduation of River Song chapter, so River here knows all about LJ and his parents and his history and has been his friend for years whereas in the first chapter she'd just met him. Next chapter might go back to their first year together or somewhere in the middle or even after they leave Luna University. You never know, but I'll try to give little details about where the chapter falls in their time at school though.

To answer a question in a review, yes, I've decided to write out the 3rd OC Time Lady story, to be posted on the 1st of January, 2013 (we'll make a year of DW!) :) I'm really excited about it, especially because we see more of 9 and romantic 10. I've got lots planned for that one, lots of twists, lots of pain and joy, nightmares and surprises, drama and romance...I can't wait ^-^

Last note (this will also be in my next chapter of Recollections) November has definitely seen my job calm down. I've worked out a system for school and work that gives me at least a half hour every morning to write/work on the chapters for this and Recollections, giving me time on the weekends to work on the episodes. I'm hoping to try and post at least every 6 or 7 (maybe 5, if I'm lucky) days either a chapter of this series or Recollections.

Next chapter will give us a look into why LJ chose 'The Captain' as his title. Virtual cookie to anyone who can guess it before I post :)


	3. Three of a Kind

A/N: Sorry to post this here, but I know some readers don't read the A/N at the bottom, I wanted to let you know there will be a very IMPORTANT A/N (in bold) at the bottom, please read that at least :) I think you'll enjoy it.

~8~

Three of a Kind

River huffed as she followed LJ across the expanse of Luna University, following him to the indoor garden that had been created for the botany students. It was lush, with all sorts of flowers and trees and other vegetation. She had no idea why they were there.

"Going to tell me yet?" she asked her friend, quite probably her best friend.

She'd met him two years ago when he'd been tasked with showing her the school. He'd had this insane notion that they would be best friends…surprisingly, truly much to her shock, he'd been right. He hadn't left her alone, meeting up with her after classes, hanging out with her on the weekends, helping her with her History homework. He was surprisingly well versed on many different eras and had really interesting opinions on a number of events that took place in them, the way he spoke, she'd almost believe he'd _been_ there.

He laughed, "Oh come on Riv, it's a surprise!"

She rolled her eyes, "Are you ever going to explain why you insist on calling me Riv?" she asked. She'd gotten used to it over the years, admittedly, but she always asked and he never said. There was a lot he never said, now that she thought about it. She'd ask questions about his childhood, his parents, his home, but he'd always find some way to change the topic.

"You'll find out one day," he shrugged before his eyes widened, "They should be here any minute, come on," he grabbed her hand and pulled her into a run.

"Who?" she frowned, jogging with him over to a small meadow-like area.

He grinned, "My parents," before nudging her, "You're always asking about them, now you'll get to meet them."

She blinked, "So why aren't we in the main hall? It's where the parents are supposed to meet."

It was a tradition at Luna University, that the parents of the students, should they wish, could come and see the school and their children mid-term, an opportunity that only lasted one week, this week. Today was the last day. All the other parents had gathered in the main hall, where they were supposed to check in.

He laughed, "Mum and dad following the rules?" he laughed harder, "That'll be the day."

She shook her head, so_ that's_ where he got it from.

"But how are they going to get here?" she asked, it wasn't like they could just drop down out of the sky…they were on the moon! In space!

"Wait for it," he grinned.

And so she did.

A moment later…she heard it…the familiar sound of the Universe.

Her eyes widened as the wheezing noise filled the gardens, a blue police telephone box slowly materializing before them.

"Oh my God," she breathed as the box became solid.

LJ laughed at her shocked expression and walked over, knocking on the door, "You're late!" he called.

The door was thrown open and he was half-tackled in a hug the size of Mount Olympus. He just laughed and put his arms around the blonde woman, hugging her tightly, "Hello mum!" he gave her a kiss on the cheek as she pulled away. He looked over at the man leaning on the corner of the TARDIS, straightening his bow-tie, "Dad."

The Doctor just walked over, taking his son's hand to shake before pulling the boy into a hug as well, "Hello boyo! What have you been up to?"

LJ stepped back and put his arm around a still shocked River, "You guys have met Riv before yeah?"

"Hello River," Evy greeted, the Doctor winding an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. He had gotten over what happened in Berlin, but he always had a lingering anxiety in the first few minutes of meeting any version of River Song, never knowing what point in her timeline they'd meet.

Though, given the fact they were in Luna University, this was a VERY early version.

"Yes, hello River," the Doctor nodded, "How are things?"

River blinked. Shook her head. And blinked again.

Before turning and starting to smack LJ on the arm repeatedly, "How! Could! You! Do! That! To! Me! You! Stupid! B…"

"Whoa!" LJ stepped back and held up his hands in surrender before rubbing his arm, "Ow. What was THAT for?"

"You!" she pointed a finger at him, angry, "You're _their_ son! You NEVER said _anything_!"

He laughed, "What was I supposed to do Riv? Walk up to you and say 'Hi Mels, I'm LJ, you tried to kill my parents?' Yeah, _that_ would have made a _wonderful_ first impression."

She glared at him, though her cheeks flushed at the fact that the Doctor and Evy were standing right there, and that she HAD tried to kill them. Just recently…though…now that she looked at Evy, she saw the woman was clearly not pregnant and that the baby, judging by LJ, was clearly very grown up. It must have been ages for them between Berlin and now, while it had only been two years for her. How strange…was this what life with time travelers would be like? Meeting so out of sequence?

"Sorry about that," she murmured, glancing at the Time Lords. She still felt awful about that…had nightmares of what she'd done to Evy, of the pain the Time Lady had been in.

"Everything worked out in the end," the Doctor waved her off, seeing how guilty the woman felt about it. He eased his grip on Evy, this was _not_ a River who would try to hurt them, though he doubted they'd ever encounter that version of her again.

~8~

The small group of four sat in the canteen of the university, LJ and River having given the Doctor and Evy a brief tour on the way. River grimaced as she watched the Doctor eating fish fingers with custard, Evy just munching on an apple as they sat across from her and LJ. They'd had a surprisingly calm lunch, talking about LJ's progress in school, about her own program, though she could tell the Doctor wasn't very keen to talk about archaeology, but Evy had just whacked him on the back of the head when he'd started grumbling about it.

Evy was very animated in talking about school, especially literature when River brought up that she was in a poetry class at the moment, part of her general class requirements that the school imposed.

"Oh I love poetry," Evy smiled, "What era are you concentrating on?"

"We've just started the 19th century, Earth poetry," River answered, "We're supposed to write a reaction to some Witty Waldo poem about the first Civil War of America."

Evy frowned, not familiar with that poet, till she realized, "Oh, Walt Whitman," River nodded, "'O Captain! My Captain,' is that the poem?"

River looked at her a moment, "You've read it?"

"It's her favorite poem," the Doctor explained.

"And that's only because the man it's about hit on her," LJ smirked, laughing as his father's expression soured.

"Abe was a nice man," Evy defended, "He was being honest. And besides it was _just_ a _compliment_!"

The Doctor huffed. The president of the United States had outright flirted with her, in his mind. He'd gone up to Evy, kissed the back of her hand in greeting and said she looked lovely at his inaugural ball. Well...she _did_ look very lovely, she always did, but the man didn't have to _say_ it! That was HIS job as her Link.

Evy laughed, seeing his thoughts and leaned over to kiss his cheek, making him beam at getting a kiss out of her.

"I used to read poetry to LJ as bedtime stories," Evy explained to River, it was something she still did as LJ, HER LJ was still a baby, "In fact..." she reached into the Doctor's pocket and seached a moment before pulling out an old copy of a book of Whitman's poetry, "Even got Walt to autograph a copy for me," she handed it over to River, "Take it for now, read some of his poems, he's actually quite good."

River nodded, gently opening the old tome and flipping through some pages, when something struck her and she looked at LJ, "Is _that_ why you picked your title?"

The Doctor and Evy exchanged a look, they had guessed at what LJ's title might have been, given how River had greeted the man in the pyramid, but now it was confirmed. They weren't sure how they felt, having the foreknowledge of what their son would pick as a title for himself before the boy even knew, but they silently agreed to keep quiet about it. They'd let him pick his own name in his own time, they wouldn't influence him. If his title changed, it would change, time was being rewritten all the time after all.

LJ, on the other hand, just laughed and shook his head, "Nah, I picked it for Uncle Jack."

"Jack Harkness?" River asked, recalling a few stories that LJ actually told, "The Time Agent?"

He nodded, but needed to correct her, "That's CAPTAIN Jack Harkness."

River shook her head at that, "You said you didn't want to be a Time Agent."

"I don't, but mum told me so many stories about Uncle Jack and Uncle Ianto, well, he's my favorite uncle. I'm with him right now actually."

River eyed him, "No...you're here."

He shook his head, "I mean mini-me."

"Who?" River asked.

He nodded back at the two Time Lords before him, "They're my mum and dad, but not MY mum and dad."

"No, completely lost," River shook her head.

"They're my mum and dad but from a different point in my timeline," he explained, nudging her, "See, THIS is why you should take that minor in physics."

She rolled her eyes, "So, they're..."

"In our timeline, he's still a baby," Evy helped explain, "We're here to visit because he called us and asked us to come."

"So they're your parents," River said slowly, "But not the most recent versions."

"Exactly," the Doctor nodded, "It's complicated, a right old mess really. You see, when you think about it, time is just a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stu..."

He was cut off suddenly by Evy putting a hand to his lips, "Take a physics class," she told River, "I guarantee it'll make more sense than any explanation he can come up wit...Doctor!" she shouted, pulling her hand away from him, glaring as she wiped her hand on her pants, "Again?" he just stuck out his tongue at her, leaving little to the imagination of what he'd done to get her to pull her hand away, "Such a child!"

River couldn't help it, she burst out laughing.

~8~

"Well, we'd best be off," the Doctor began, hours later, after they'd been shooed out of the canteen for sitting there and talking, not eating anymore, wasting table space, "I dread to think what Jack's done to mini-you," he smirked at LJ.

LJ laughed, already knowing, "Let's just say...it gives a whole new meaning to 'Mini-Me' yeah."

Evy groaned and shook her head, rubbing her face, she could just imagine that. LJ dressed up like a mini-Jack, complete with his own little WWII jacket. They needed to find a babysitter.

They moved over to LJ, both of them giving him a tight hug, before Evy kissed his cheek and the Doctor dropped one onto the boy's head, LJ smiling as they stepped back, not at all embarassed by the fact his parents, any version of them, loved him. He knew exactly what they'd gone through in the process of having him, he'd accept any and all displays of affection, because he loved them just as much.

"It was great to meet you properly," River smiled, she'd had a rather good time, actually getting to sit down with the Time Lords instead of running about with a deadly situation looming, "And...I really _am_ so sorry about Berlin. I..."

Evy just stepped over, seeing the woman starting to tear up, and hugged her tightly, "We forgive you River," Evy whispered before pulling away to look at the woman with a smile, tucking a strand of River's curly hair behind her ear, "And we don't blame you. We forgave you a _long_ time ago."

River smiled gratefully at her, so relieved that the two aliens hadn't hated her for what she'd done in Berlin, what she'd put them through.

"Goodbye River," the Doctor whispered, stepping over, both he and Evy kissing a cheek, much like they had done to LJ.

She smiled at them, tears in her eyes as they backed into the TARDIS, the box disappearing moments later.

"So…when can I meet _your_ parents?" LJ asked with a grin, even though he'd already met them, as a baby, but River didn't know that...or wouldn't know that...for a while at least. It was such a strange notion, he would come to know things from two points of view, as a baby and an adult. He knew what happened...what _would_ happen...to River's parents, his parents' beloved Ponds, but he couldn't say, because it technically hadn't happened yet, not in River's future. His past, yes, but not her future.

But _her_ past...it had been the reason for sending out the call to the TARDIS of his 'past' parents. He knew River needed this little visit. He'd been there when she'd had a few nightmares about Berlin, and he hated to see her so sad and scared, he knew she needed the reassurances of his parents that everything was alright, as though he weren't proof enough that they'd survived that experience, "I promise I won't try to kill them," he promised, nudging her jokingly.

She started laughing...when a pit dropped into her stomach. LJ, the child of the Doctor and Evy, the baby that had been in Evy's stomach when they'd gone to Berlin. She felt sick…she knew they'd nearly lost the baby, lost LJ.

Oh God.

She'd nearly killed her best friend.

"Riv?" he asked, frowning, seeing her get so pale so suddenly, "You alright?"

She looked over, taking a breath, reminding herself he was still _there_, he _hadn't_ died, she_ hadn't_ succeeded.

Never before had she been so grateful that she'd failed.

"Fine," she shook her head, "But you do realize, now that I know who you really are, I'm going to use you for my dissertation yeah?"

He laughed, she was planning to write her dissertation to earn her doctorate on the Doctor and Evy, using archaeological evidence of them through time and space, "Happy to help," he grinned, taking her hand and leading her back to the university.

A/N: Can you imagine the cuteness of a baby dressed up like Captain Jack? Lol, you guys were right, and now we officially know why LJ calls himself the Captain eh? It's sweet, he's been raised on tales of Ianto and Jack, who else would he name himself after? As they said, Doctor Jr. is a rubbish name :) I hope you like it. Trust me, I had like three titles picked out for boys and girls when the polls were open, this one just FIT with Sigma's personality :) Eh, what do you think, Captain Jonathan Ianto Smith, time traveler extraordinaire :) There'll actually be a tie-in of this chapter in my DOAS chapters for the Lunar Cycle :)

This is also a 'River-visit' chapter, as River's told the 11s that they _do/did_ visit her at the university. So this is them visiting her. They see older LJ, but his younger self is on Earth with Jack. I'm not entirely sure which versions of the Doctor or Evy would be older LJ's parents, if they regenerate before he's an adult or not, so I'm leaving it vague, this is a messed up timeline event. And...this is the version of Evy that River needs to apologize to. If she regenerated, it wouldn't be the same Evy that she'd hurt in Berlin, if that makes sense. LJ knows THIS version is the one River needs to meet first. But...who knows what other versions of his parents will be popping up from time to time...hmm...

**IMPORTANT NOTE!** I swear to god, the shower is THE place to get inspired. I have no idea why but I was thinking about December, about how I really have tortured you all in waiting till 2013 for the DW stories to pick up and I'm not usually that mean so...I decided to give you a gift. At first I was thinking of doing a '12 Days of Christmas' thing where I post 12 chapters of something, but...there would be too many things I'd like to post to do that. When I finally tallied it up, it was just about 24, so...I'm going to give you a December/Holiday gift...

Every day, starting on the 1st of December, I'm going to give you 100 word drabbles of each episode for Series 7 directly from the chapters that will eventually be posted for both the Academic Series and the Lunar Cycle...AND! a key moment/drabble from my new series starting from Series 1 (haven't written far enough ahead into the more recent series but I should be able to write up some scenes based on my outlines). These drabbles will be in a small series called 'Sneak Peeks' that will actually have the first chapter (an introduction) posted tomorrow for the following reason...

ON TOP OF THOSE DRABBLES! There will be a vote up on my profile starting Sunday, I am posting Sneak Peeks on Saturday just so people know about the vote. This chapter will only be up for a day or so, because FF has a rule against stories/chapters that are just A/Ns and I don't want to get in too much trouble. Just so you know, every three days (the 18th, 21st, 24th, 27th, 30th, and 3rd) you'll be able to vote on your favorite episode of each Series of DW (excluding the 10-specials and Series 7 as they are very short) and I will give you a sneak peek drabble for the winning episode from my new OC series too! So check on Sunday, the 18th on my profile to start the voting.

And I'll do you one better, there will be a Christmas chapter for _both_ Recollections _and_ TAOSAT posted on Christmas, AND a New Years chapter posted on New Years for them as well. AND! I will post drabbles for the DW Christmas specials (nothing too spoilery I promise) for my three series too! Plus two possible other chapters of Recollections and TAOSAT just to fill in the remaining 2 day gap, unless I figure something else out to put there.

Unfortunately, this means that, in order to get to the chapter I have planned for TAOSAT for Christmas, I will be posting TAOSAT more often than Recollections, just about every five days or so, with Recollections being updated near the end of this month and the beginning of December.

But still...a month of DW drabbles before a YEAR of DW stories...how awesome is that?

And...don't forget to watch Children in Need (UK viewers) or check the DW BBC site (for us Americans) later on today because we get a sneak peek at the DW Christmas special (ironic right?)! Yay!


	4. Four Beats

A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry, I had planned to post this chapter yesterday, but my 'Sneak Peek' announcment/story...even though I said I would delete it a couple days after posting...someone reported it as an announcement and not a story before I could delete it and my account was locked till 1:51am! Sorry!

~8~

Four Beats

River sat quietly in the chair beside the stark white bed of the sterile white infirmary of the university. She was curled up on it actually, her legs to her chest, one arm around them, her chin on her knees…yet her other hand and her gaze were not on her. Her free hand was holding the hand of the boy lying in the bed, his eyes closed, his face pained, his breathing shallow. Her gaze was locked on this same boy.

It was _all her fault_ he'd ended up there.

She had wanted to go on a trip the university had planned, a sort of diplomatic mission to the war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. She'd been fascinated by how it had been raging for 50,000 years, that lingering psychopathy left over from her years being conditioned and trained by the Silence…whoever they were. She couldn't really remember. She just knew that, whatever they'd done to her, had left her with a wide knowledge of weapons and a slight love of chaos.

LJ had tried to warn her away from it. Claiming to have firsthand experience dealing with Sontarans AND Rutans and that there was _no way_ that the trip would go as planned.

She should have _known_ that if HE said something was too dangerous and not to go, she shouldn't go.

He'd actually gone to the heads of the university, demanding to know why, all of a sudden, they were planning such a trip. He'd discovered that the school had actually been trying to organize it for _ages_ and only _just_ managed to get the approval of Earth, the funding, and enough students interested. The Diplomacy and Political Science programs of the school had wanted to show the students what happened if war went on for too long.

LJ had become _very_ angry at that, and rightfully so, River thought. He'd shouted till he was blue in the face that he knew EXACTLY what could happen if a war was left to be waged with no one trying to stop it. He'd experienced it through his parents, she knew, he knew _exactly_ what could be lost. And not just _lives_ or a _planet_, but the _souls_ of those who fought in it. War _changed_ people, he'd pleaded with them not to expose students to that level of darkness…

The heads of the school hadn't listened and she hadn't been able to back out. If she did, then they'd have less people than they needed to launch the trip and the whole thing would have been cancelled…apparently many other students were eager to go and would be ridiculously cross with her if their, quite possibly once-in-a-lifetime, trip had been cancelled because of her.

So she'd _had_ to go.

LJ had been _fuming_, but he'd signed up as well. Which had confused her at first, till he said he wasn't about to let his best friend enter a warzone without someone there beside her, without someone to watch her back. He was protective like that. Always looking out for her, whether in schoolwork or her safety or even her love life…that poor Nestene Duplicate with the swappable head she'd dated for a few weeks till he broke it off with her…well…he was still trying to find his other head.

She'd tried to tell him that he didn't _have_ to go with her, that she'd be _fine_ on her own, but he'd been adamant that he go. He'd even cited that, if the roles were reversed, would _she_ leave _him_? She'd said no immediately, which hadn't helped the situation at all. She'd tried to explain that he knew her past, clearly he did if he knew her through his parents, she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that, apparently, he knew her when he was a baby as well. If he knew her past, then he knew she _could_ defend and take care of herself just fine. He'd countered with the fact that if she knew his parents than she knew that he was going to go regardless of what she said, that he was more than capable of taking care of her and defending her as well.

It had been harder to argue that point. The Doctor and Evy _had_ fought in an _actual_ war. Lost friends, lost family, lost parts of themselves. And LJ had absorbed that. He knew how to fight, yes, he knew how to handle some weapons, yes, and he knew how to use both to protect those he cared for. He had the Doctor's fierce protectiveness and Evy's ability to actually succeed in doing what she set out to do, in this case, protect people. The woman was clearly a godsend in the sense that the Doctor was still alive, LJ had seemed to make it his mission that he keep HER alive as well. She didn't know why he was so protective, why he was so determined to keep her from coming to harm. In ways, it went _beyond_ friendship, not love, definitely not _that_ sort of love, but…it was almost like he _knew_ something, something about her, about her future that he wasn't saying. She saw it sometimes, just behind his eyes, when she'd catch him looking at her when he didn't think she was watching.

In the end, he'd won the argument, of course he had. He always won. It was irritating, but fun as well. They could both argue till they turned purple, but their points were always valid and they always learned more from it. It still irritated her that he won though…she'd have to step up her game…perhaps ask Evy how she might be able to win an argument against LJ. She'd asked once how the woman won arguments against the Doctor. She'd just smirked and said all she really did was kiss him and _then_ ask the question, he'd be too dazed to really be able to think of an argument.

And then the Doctor would claim she cheated.

She was _not_ about to kiss LJ just to win an argument though. She actually grimaced at the idea. He was her _best friend_, in fact…he was almost like a cousin to her. He'd actually called her parents, Amy and Rory, his aunt and uncle once, so that must have made them like pseudo-cousins. Very close cousins, sibling-like cousins really.

She shook her head, she preferred best friends to be honest.

Which was why they were in their current predicament.

They'd gone on the trip, sat in their ship, watching a battle take place from a distance. And then their professors had decided to take them onboard a Rutan ship, to get their point of view on the war. That hadn't been so bad. They'd been held at gunpoint, yeah, but the Rutans had talked as soon as they realized they weren't Sontaran spies, proclaiming their prowess in battle, how they deserved to win the war, how they'd fight to the death, etc.

Now that she thought about it, they really didn't _answer_ anything at all.

The Sontarans, on the other hand, hadn't taken quite so well to their arrival. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that they'd teleported right from the Rutan ship to the Sontaran one. Their sensors had picked up the source of the teleport and thought they were a surprise attack that had breached their defenses. They'd attacked without stopping to ask questions first.

It had been a near massacre. Everyone had been scrambling for cover, trying to find a place to hide to avoid being shot. The professors had tried to gather them together, needing to teleport them out. But they needed everyone together and they were all so scattered.

She and LJ were a few of the last ones to make it back to the professors. A Sontaran had fired at her as they ran...

And LJ had pushed her out of the way, taking the blast himself.

He'd been really badly hurt…his side was burned, his lung had partially collapsed, a few of his ribs were broken…and his arm from when he'd fallen on it. The medics at the school had done quick work on him as soon as they'd gotten back to the school's ship. He was a Time Lord, he could just as easily regenerate and heal from the injury…but they didn't know. LJ had gone through a lot of trouble keeping that fact about him a secret, the last thing he or his parents needed were records of him attending the university, his species listed as Time Lord. He was listed as humanoid in the school's register.

So she'd forced her way into the room, watching them carefully to make sure none of the medications they'd given him would harm him. He'd actually told her a lot about Time Lords and their biology after the Doctor and Evy had come to visit them with the other parents about a year ago. She'd made sure to remember everything, not wanting to offer him medicine, should he fall ill, that might kill him.

He'd been lucky that the medics finished with him so quickly. He hadn't even started to regenerate, which was good. She didn't want him to die, even if it meant him living as another person, because of her. No, she wanted him to have all his regenerations, forever.

She'd _never_ forgive herself if he died because of her.

He hadn't though..but now...now he was lying in a bed in the infirmary, unconscious, his arm wrapped in a cast, bandages around his ribs…and she _knew_, he'd be whining and complaining about it for ages, pouting that he should have just regenerated and that healing took SO long!

She'd have to smack him for it.

Evy had taught her well.

But still…he hadn't woken up yet and she was starting to worry. If he would just open his eyes, wake up for just a bit, she'd feel better. So she sat there, holding his hand, waiting for him to stir.

She'd been at it for hours now, when his eyelids finally started to flutter. She held her breath, waiting…and, slowly, he opened his eyes. He winced, about to move his hand to place it on his arm when he felt her holding it.

He looked over, giving her a pained smile, "Hey Riv."

"O Captain My Captain," she greeted with a little smirk.

He rolled his eyes, playfully grumbling, "I'm on my deathbed and you _still_ insist on that stupid rhyme."

"Shut up," she squeezed his hand, "You're _not_ on your _deathbed_, don't you _dare_ say that!"

He frowned and looked at her again, seeing she was actually starting to tear up at the words. He must have scared her terribly when he'd fallen trying to get her out, "Sorry," he breathed, squeezing her hand.

"What were you _thinking_?" she demanded, glaring at him now, "Pushing me out of the way like that? Getting shot!"

"Honestly, didn't really think at all," he shrugged, before wincing at the tug on his ribs and movement in his arm.

"That much is clear."

"But afterwards, I'd assume it was something like 'No! Riv! Watch out!'" he added, trying to joke.

But River wouldn't have that. She stared at him, "You could have _died_ J," she whispered, tears actually falling now.

He gave her a small grin, "But I _didn't_. Got too much of mum's resiliency in me I suppose," he laughed.

River shook her head, "And too much of your father's idiocy."

He seemed about to shrug before thinking better of it, "Well I AM their son."

She wiped her tear away, uncurling on the chair to sit, leaning forward, "Don't do that _ever_ again J," she said quietly, "_Promise_ me."

"I can't make that promise Riv," he told her, just as quiet, just as serious, "You're my _best friend_," he added, seeing her about to argue, "I'd do _anything_ for you. You'd have done the same for me."

"Yes, but if _I _died…"

"Then I'd be alone," he cut in, knowing she would be putting herself down, knowing she had no idea just how _important_ she was to him or the things she would one day do for the Universe, for his parents, for him, "I'd be alone, without my best friend, without my Timegirl. How am I supposed to explore space and time when one half of the equation is missing?" he shook his head, "I don't want you to die Riv, and if that means protecting you, taking a hit meant for you, I'll do it," he gave her a little grin, "I've got plenty of lives you know."

She did laugh this time, "You should have called yourself 'The Cat' then."

He grimaced, "Hate cats!"

River shook her head, smiling, just like his father.

She opened her mouth to say more, when one of the school nurses came in to check on him, happy to see her patient awake. She quickly checked his vitals, noting his dual hearts beating, but shrugged, there were quite a few humanoid two-hearted species, like Apulapuchians. She smiled, putting some medicine into the IV hanging by the boy's bed, and nodded at him before heading out.

River sighed, "You should get some rest," she murmured, noting that the medicine, while safe for his system, would make him sleep, let him sleep through the first _real_ stirrings of pain.

She moved to stand, to head out, when LJ tightened his grip on her hand, "Don't…" he called, making her pause, "Will you stay Riv?"

She looked back at him, looking up at her with his soft blue eyes, those baby blues that she could never say no to, and sighed, nodding, moving to sit back down, "Just till _you_ fall asleep," she warned him, "You know how I get when I fall asleep in chairs."

He let out a little laugh, making a tense expression as the motion jolted his ribs, "Scary, cranky, irritated..."

She whacked his good arm lightly before reaching out to run her hand through his hair as his eyes slowly closed and he fell back asleep.

She sighed, watching him a moment, before wiping another tear from under her eyes. He'd _never_ know exactly how _terrified_ she'd been to think she'd almost lost him. Even though she knew he was a Time Lord, that he _did_ have other lives to live, seeing him fall like that, having to be the one to haul his unmoving body up, and carry it back to the teleport ring…it had been _the worst_ experience of her life.

She glanced back at him, his breathing soft, his face relaxing as the pain relievers in the medicine kicked in. She hesitated a moment before scooting closer, turning her head to rest the side of her face on his chest, her ear over his right heart.

She smiled softly as she heard the dual beats, those four beats, his heartbeats, reassuring her that he was still there, still alive, still with her.

And he always would be if she had anything to say about that.

She was not about to lose her Spaceman either.

A/N: Awww, sweet. How many people thought of Evy pushing the Doctor out of the Dalek's shot in the Stolen Earth/Journey's End chapters when LJ pushed River out of the Sontaran's shot? Just like his mum he is :)

Next chapter seems like it might be a little short I'm sorry to say, but! we'll get to see a little of what River thinks of her parents, Evy, and the Doctor...probably not in the way you'd expect :) It'll also be a prequel to this chapter, what did I say, messed up/random timelines eh?

For anyone who missed it, my poll for favorite Series 2 episode is currently up, till the 24th when you can vote on Series 3 :)


	5. Quintessence

Quintessence

A bell chimed and the students of the philosophy class glanced over at the small clock digitally projected on the wall above the door to their room. For some reason, despite the clocks all being digital, Luna University had insisted on a clock tower with bells. It was chiming one o'clock, which was when all the morning classes ended, giving students an hour break for lunch before other classes would resume at two.

River Song smiled, this was her last class of the day, and it was Friday, she and LJ had signed up for a trip to observe the war between the Rutans and the Sontarans and it would be leaving tomorrow, they had to prepare and meet the rest of the group to go over protocol later on today, but it didn't matter, she had no more classes for the day!

As she packed her bag, vaguely listening to the professor reminding them of their homework assignments for the next week, she_ did_ hear something else.

"And Miss Song," the professor called, waiting till River looked up before gesturing her over, "A moment?"

River frowned, trying to think why the professor might want to speak to her before ambling down the steps of the lecture room and over to the woman's desk. She huffed under her breath, she was rather eager to leave. This was her last general subjects class, having not been too big a fan of philosophy but needing it to complete her requirements, she'd put it off till the last possible moment. Luna University only gave its students their first two years to complete those sorts of classes before they had to focus on the core classes for their fields.

"Yes professor?" she asked as the rest of the class filed out.

"I just wanted to speak with you about your paper," the professor dug in her bag, pulling out the short essay River had submitted last week, "It's very well written, but I'm concerned you may not have grasped the concept of what I wanted you to write about."

River frowned, "How so?"

The professor sighed, "I asked you to describe the five elements described by Aristotle and how they relate to the real world…"

"Yes?" River shook her head, that's what she'd done.

"Miss Song, you wrote about your family."

River blinked, "Yes, I did."

The professor sighed, seeing that River was either not getting it or had interpreted the assignment a different way than intended, "Could you explain why you did this? How could they possibly relate to Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Ether?"

River smiled, she'd originally begun writing about exactly how the elements related to life, fire being fire, bringing warmth, water for water, to drink, and so on. But when LJ had read through it, more like read it over her shoulder as she typed it, he'd scoffed and said it was so boring, that everyone would be writing about that. And that she was too extraordinary to write such a generic paper.

So she'd taken the elements in a more…philosophic…direction.

"Well, ma'am," River began, "Fire is my mother. You see, she has red hair, a temper, a fiery and passionate personality. While my father is Water, he's very relaxed, calm, patient, and he's a nurse. You've mentioned in your lectures that water had a healing quality to the ancients. Air, well that's got to be my…uncle," she supplied for lack of a better word, she didn't exactly see the Doctor as her uncle, but almost…almost like a second father, he was LJ's father and they were all very close, "He's an adventurer. He's always whizzing about and flying off into space, dropping out of the sky whenever he pleases. My…aunt, she's Earth, because she's grounded, she's very level headed, thoughtful, she's a rock, a support."

The professor nodded slightly, following along, she had to admit, hearing River explain exactly how she associated the elements with her family was ingenious. Many of the other students had taken to talking about the elements literally, in terms of attributes, disasters, a few had even done colors. But River…she'd surprised her.

"What about Ether?"

River's smile softened, "That's J, uh, my best friend, John," she corrected, knowing the woman wouldn't have any idea who she was talking about, "He's…" she sighed, "He's everything to me. He's my best friend, my partner in crime, we're thick as thieves him and me. But he's so much more than that. He's like...a combination of all the others, he's got a temper sure, but he's so easy going, and mad for adventure, but he can be serious when he knows he should be. He's got so many ideas, his head is farther up than just in the clouds, it's in space, in the ether."

The professor smiled, "I'm glad you say that, you're the only one who achieved full marks on the paper."

River frowned, "But you said I didn't understand the concept."

"I said I was _concerned_ that you hadn't," she corrected, "I wanted you to defend it, to know _why_ you'd written what you had instead of just having been lazy and written about the first thing that popped into your head. I had a boy once who wrote about a sandwich as a metaphor for how the different aspects of personality create a person. But he only wrote that because he was eating a sandwich at the time. Had nothing to do with anything I had actually taught him, so I tend to make sure why my students write what they do, especially in papers such as yours."

River smiled, taking her paper from the woman, "Thank you."

"Thank YOU," she smiled at River, "You, Miss Song, students like you, are the reason I teach," she eyed River a moment, "Have you ever considered a career in teaching?"

River blinked, "Not really, no."

"Think about it. You could make a rather fine professor one day."

River smiled and nodded, putting her paper away as she headed for the door.

"Finally!" a voice shouted from behind the door she'd stepped past, "What took you so long Riv?"

River rolled her eyes, but said nothing about the nickname, he'd just gotten her full marks after all. She closed the door, revealing LJ standing behind it, "Just chatting with the professor."

He glanced back into the room through the window of the door to see the woman gathering her papers and then at River, frowning, "You weren't in trouble right?"

River just took his hand and pulled him off, "Come on, I owe you a burger."

He laughed, "So you DID get full marks for writing something different for the elements then?"

They'd had a wager going. She'd adamantly refused to change her essay since she thought she'd fail for writing about anything other than the elements in a literal sense. He'd argued that she'd never know if she didn't try, and that he'd treat her to a meal if he was wrong.

"That I did," she nodded, nudging him, "Thanks."

He just tugged her closer, lazily putting his arm around her shoulders, "Not a problem…" he eyed her a moment, "So…what _did_ you write about the second time?"

She gave him a sly smile, "You'll never know."

"Riv!" he mock whined.

But she just laughed, the _last_ thing she needed him to know was that writing about him and his parents, along with her own, had gotten her the best grade in the class. She'd _never_ hear the end of it and, as Evy had once warned, it was their job to keep their men's heads from getting too big.

LJ's ego was already as big as the TARDIS.

A/N: Lol, with the Doctor as his father, can you IMAGINE how big LJ's ego must be? :) Way to go River, you deflate his ego.

Sort of explains River's reaction to him getting hurt doesn't it?


	6. Sixth Sense

Sixth Sense

River sat before LJ on the floor of her room, cross-legged, as he sat back against the side of her bed, one knee bent, his arm resting on his knee as he smirked at her. She frowned, narrowing her eyes, pursing her lips as she focused. She concentrated as hard as she could, nearing the point of glaring at him to maintain her focus…

And she blinked.

He smiled at that as she huffed.

"This is never going to work," she muttered, rubbing her head.

No, they weren't having a staring contest, though anyone who saw them would think it so. No, in fact, they were trying something that LJ, and his parents, weren't sure had ever been attempted.

Getting River to read his mind.

Time Lords were, by nature, telepathic creatures. They had a connection to each other's mind, which was typically felt as a mild buzz in the back of their mind for they were taught as children to erect a standard barrier that would keep their thoughts from straying to others. The only time they actually heard another's thoughts, was if they looked for it, if they dropped their barriers, or if they had a friendship and connection with another that their minds were more in tune and able to read each other.

And then, of course, there were the Links, who had a direct connection to their partner's mind no matter what. It took quite a fair bit of control to be able to block your thoughts from your Link as it just went against the nature of the Link to hide anything from them. Things could be hidden, with practice, but Links in general had a stronger connection to their Link's mind than others, it took less effort to read their Link.

The only Time Lords left though, were him and his parents…

And River.

She was human plus, specifically human plus Time Lord, so he'd always wondered if River would be able to read his mind…well, actually, he didn't wonder. He knew. He'd seen it as a baby, heard his older self talk about it. He knew, at some point, River would be able to read his mind, but she just had to get to that point.

Which was what they were trying to do now.

He'd dropped his mental barriers, exposing his mind as much as it possibly could be without him projecting his thoughts to her as he'd done once or twice in the past. His mother had taught him how to do it. But…he didn't want to always have to project his thoughts, and even then, he wouldn't have been able to hear River's in return unless he really tried to read her mind, his mother had taught him that as well…but that always felt like an awful invasion of privacy to him, it was why his mother rarely ever did that to the humans who travelled around in the TARDIS.

But, when River had learned about the telepathic abilities of Time Lords, she'd wanted to try her hand in reading or projecting her thoughts as well. She'd given him full permission to read her mind whenever he wanted, claiming that nothing was going on up there that he wouldn't find out about eventually…but he'd rather establish a mental connection with her first.

Not only would it be easier to read her mind later on, but it would make him feel less like he was forcing himself into her mind as opposed to her having an open door there for him to step through. And…it would be rather interesting to see what she'd do with reading his mind. Not that much was going on up there she wouldn't learn about either…but…there were some things he'd locked away in a door in the back of his mind that River would _never_ be able to get to no matter how strong her telepathic abilities got.

Like what he knew of her future, his parents experiences and memories that were just for him alone.

Those things he'd keep from her, but all else was fair game.

He knew she probably, having a smidge of Time Lord in her, would be able to connect to Time Lord minds once she got the hang of it. She'd probably never be able to read or project to a human like his mother could. But that was alright with him, he just wanted to share that part of himself with her, that part of her heritage, the mental connection of their people.

It wasn't quite like Linking, he knew River was NOT his Link, and he grimaced at the thought. She was too much like a cousin, a sister, despite their flirting, for him to feel that way. And even though he'd told her about the Link, about the different branches of it, he was certain River was _not_ his Link in _any_ sense. The Link was instant, it gave you direct access, you saw everything about the other person, right down to their soul…what he knew of River he'd learned from her or from watching his future self interact with her as a baby.

No, River was not his Link.

But that didn't mean they couldn't be mentally connected in a sense.

"Come on Riv," he nudged her knee with his foot, "You can do it."

She gave him a look, "I've been staring at your ugly face for three hours straight. Any longer and I'll go blind."

"You wound me," he laughed, putting his hand mockingly on his chest.

She rolled her eyes, rubbing her head again, starting to get a headache, "I really don't think it's going to work though J."

"You're just trying too hard Riv. You've got to relax. It'll happen."

She shook her head, "Nothing ever 'just happens.' You have to work for it."

Lord knew she'd had her work cut out for her just getting her parents together when she'd been Mels.

"You feel it though, don't you?" he cut in, "You can just tell when I'm hanging around somewhere, when I'm getting close to you. You got that sixth sense going when you can always sense me when I'm behind you. Right?"

"Yeah?" she shook her head, not knowing what he was getting at.

"That sort of little tickle in the back of your head?"

"What about it?"

He grinned, "Riv, THAT'S the connection. That's the key. That means you already have some sort of connection to me, some sort of mental sense about me. You just need to expand on that, tap into it. If it's already there, you don't have to work so hard. You're probably focusing so much on me that you're not letting it help."

"That's ridiculous," she deadpanned, staring at him.

"Is it?" he smirked, "Give it a try," she huffed, "No, really. Just relax. Come on!" he urged her. She rolled her eyes but cracked her neck, stretching, moving into a more comfortable position, "Good, now, close your eyes," she did, "Right, now…you feel that tingle?" she nodded, "Focus on that, just reach out and try to touch it, let it grow and expand while you think about yours truly. It should be easy, what with my handsome face being forever ingrained in your mind, my dashing disposition, my boyish grin, my really great hair, my…"

"Enormous ego," she cut in, but she was smiling.

He laughed, seeing her relaxing, "That too I suppose. Just focus on that Riv. Think about how you feel when I'm around, that tingle. Let it expand…let it guide you. It's already aware of me, just let it connect…"

He paused a moment, watching her intently as she sat there, '_There's a spider on your shoulder._'

"WHAT?!" she screamed, jerking to the side, looking at her shoulders frantically, only to glare at him, "You insufferable ass!" she threw a pillow at him.

"Riv…" he began, but then she threw a rolled up sock at him, "Riv," and then a pen, "Riv!" and then a shoe, "River!"

"What!?" she snapped, glaring.

"I didn't say anything," he smirked.

"You told me there was a _spider_ on me!" she shouted, she _hated_ spiders, with their multiple eyes and little creepy legs that just scuttled up you without you even knowing...

"Yeah, I TOLD you," he nodded, "But I didn't SAY it."

She blinked, before frowning, his words registering…he hadn't _spoken_ those words but…she'd _heard_ him…

"Oh my God," she breathed, her eyes wide as they snapped to him, "Did I just…"

"Yep," he popped his p, beaming at her.

"I heard your thoughts!" she blinked.

"Yep."

"I read your mind!" she squealed and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly, before pulling back suddenly, "Let's go again."

He laughed but nodded, knowing River, once she started, would keep at it till she perfected it.

A/N: Awww. I felt really bad for LJ and how the chances of him finding his Link really are next to nothing, and wanted to give him some semblance of a closeness to someone. River was perfect. She's Human plus Time Lord, similar enough to them where, I feel, she'd be able to read his mind. I don't think she'd be able to read the Doctor or Evy's though, at least without their participation. As we've seen here she needs a lot of effort, focus, and a connection already, along with the Time Lord dropping their barriers, to even _begin_ to work on it. But still, can you IMAGINE what goes on in _LJ's_ mind? The Doctor's son? Captain Jack's godson?

Oh boy, poor River lol :)

But then again, knowing River...what must go on in her head too?


	7. Seven Days, One Week

Seven Days, One Week

She didn't know how he'd done it. But he had.

7 days.

1 week.

That was _all_ it took for the barmy boy who showed her the school to become her best friend.

She still didn't know how that happened.

But there she was, one week later, sitting with him in the canteen, having lunch between their classes. She absently chewed her sandwich as she eyed him, trying to work it out. She didn't trust easily, not after being raised by Madame Kovarian and the Silence, whoever they were, she couldn't really remember. But this boy had somehow made it past all her defenses and so quickly too.

Sunday had been her first day at the university, he showed her around. Brought her to the classrooms, the different wings, the different parts of the university base, like the gardens and the library and the gym. He'd rambled half the time, ending up on tangents of things that sparked his interest. Something about the bees in the garden being important and the MRI machine for the medical students being dangerous. She hadn't the faintest idea what he was talking about, but she nodded along.

He was amusing, she'd thought. If a bit…ok, _very_…odd. But, as she listened, she realized he had a way of stringing very important facts into the middle of his nonsense. Most people would tune him out after a while she assumed, but if you paid attention, he really was rather brilliant.

But still, she'd been a bit uncomfortable with how he announced himself as her self-proclaimed best friend, she didn't need friends. She saw what happened to people who had them, like the Doctor and Evy, others would use their friends against them, to trap them, to hurt them. Like she had. She never wanted to go down that road of being so vulnerable. But the boy insisted, so she'd gone along with it. As long as she didn't care about him, he couldn't be used to hurt her.

Monday, as he'd promised on Sunday, he'd been in her very first history class, Roman Civilizations. Now_ that_ had been an amusing class to take with him. He'd gotten into a debate…discussion…all out row…with the professor about Vesuvius and the reasons why it exploded. Something about Pyroviles and mad old soothsayers and people turning to stone.

He was barmy.

Completely mad.

But the look on the professor's face when LJ _just kept going_, hardly ever letting the man get a word in, somehow able to just rant on and on without stopping for breath…it had been hysterical. The funniest part was that he'd gone so long that, by the end of class, the professor had perhaps gotten three words in. As soon as the bell rang, he just winked at the professor and sat down, grinning like an idiot. The professor seemed so dazed he just shook his head and walked out.

He was amusing, she had to give LJ that. He made her laugh, quite easily. And it was rather funny to see him get the best of people. It made her determined to get the best of him one day, clearly he had to be an expert debater, it made her want to win an argument against him.

Not that she wanted to spend more time with the boy. No, she just…liked a challenge and arguing. No, she didn't care to spend time with him. Not at all.

Tuesday, he hadn't been in her class, so she'd actually learned something besides how to breathe through laughter. She'd thought she might have gotten a breath of fresh air, finally gotten him to give up on her as he hadn't randomly popped into her class…when she'd stepped out into the hall and turned, only to see him standing there, leaning against a wall, waiting for her.

He'd apparently hacked into the school's records to find her schedule. Which was admittedly rather creepy and slightly stalkerish. And she'd told him so. He'd just waved her off, claiming that his mum was rather good at keeping tabs on people and he'd just inherited it. She'd rolled her eyes and headed down the hall, but he'd followed her, rambling on and on. He hadn't left her alone all day, apparently it was the only day of the week he didn't have classes. And, instead of doing what a boy normally would when given the day off, sleep, he'd decided to find her and 'hang out.'

She'd wanted to go to the library to get her work done but he'd just taken her hand and pulled her off to the observatory, claiming that the astronomy professor she'd have for her science component was atrocious and that she'd need tutoring for it, best to start now.

It had been a nice day, now that she thought about it. He'd taken the time to show her the stars through a telescope, explaining their names, the reasons behind them, information about them. She had learned a lot and, for all his rambling and techno-babble, he had explained it rather well.

She'd learned perhaps he wasn't quite mad, but…brilliant. In a mad way though. But then again, there was a thin line between madness and genius she'd heard someone say once. He'd proved he was very smart. And that was something she admired, intelligence. She felt like…she had all this knowledge inside her, the potential to learn more, but no one she'd met could ever keep up with her. When she'd gone to school on Earth, as Mels, well, she'd slacked off…because it was so EASY. She understood things so fast when others struggled.

It had to be that bit of Time Lord in her, they were very clever creatures. Perhaps her brain had just gotten an extra kick out of it. She didn't know, but…for the first time in a_ long time_ she was able to have an intelligent conversation with a boy.

Wednesday…that had been a surprise. She'd gone to the library, bright and early, hoping to avoid LJ, only for the boy to plop down in front of her not even half an hour after she'd sat down, apparently having come from an early class. And, while she'd tensed, expecting him to start to ramble quietly, they were in a library after all, he'd just opened his books and papers and done his work as well, silent.

She'd blinked, surprised at that, before smiling at the silence. It wasn't uncomfortable, it was actually rather natural. She didn't feel like she _had_ to talk, neither did he, and for him, such a natural talker, to be so alright with sitting in silence, well, he must have felt just as comfortable.

That hadn't really ever happened, her feeling comfortable around someone else. Except her parents of course. But there was something about him, a sort of niggling in the back of her mind that just made his nearness seem normal, comforting.

She'd shrugged and gotten back to work, comforting was fine. She still didn't care for him.

Thursday, well, she hadn't even realized what happened till after it had happened. LJ was a FLIRT! Good God did that boy know how to use innuendo and subtext. She hadn't even realized he'd flirted with her till she got back to her dorm room and her roommate pointed it out, having heard them in the hallway. She hadn't even _noticed_, because it didn't_ feel_ like flirting, it felt more like a playful banter.

There was no true emotion behind it, no unrequited feelings, just two people having a laugh. But, thinking back on his words, if she _had_ fancied him, she'd have been blushing like a tomato.

It was refreshing, to flirt and banter with someone. Most boys she spoke to like that would assume she was interested and flirt back, which made her annoyed rather quickly as they just never quite managed to do it successfully, to keep up with her. It would figure that the one boy she met who could, wasn't interested in her.

But she wasn't interested in him, not like that. Definitely not, she knew_ that_ for certain. She was interested in him as a person but not in the romantic sense. Actually, no, not even as a person, she didn't care. She didn't!

Friday had changed all that though. She hadn't seen LJ_ all day_. She'd looked for him outside her classes, in the canteen, in the library, everywhere, even his bedroom, but he wasn't there. She'd actually just reached the point where she was starting to _worry_ when he'd come sauntering down the hall, whistling a tune and tossing a satsuma in his hands.

She'd whacked him on the arm hard for that, which made him laugh and ask what was wrong.

And she'd realized, she'd _missed_ him. She'd _worried_ about him. She'd…_cared_…and she realized, she didn't care that she had. LJ was...different. He wasn't like the other boys she'd met, he was someone brilliant, mad, who could go toe-to-toe with her and actually seem to best her, which intrigued her. She realized, she wanted to get to know him better and that it was _alright_ to want that.

She'd told him that she thought they'd miss dinner, it was a feeble excuse, but the only one she would openly admit to. He'd laughed and they'd headed off to the canteen, apparently he'd been helping one of the professors with a bit of research in their office and that was why she hadn't seen him.

Saturday was the beginning of the end, truly. They'd spent the day together, this time with her actively trying to get to know him, to interact and talk with him instead of him doing all the work. It had been the first time she'd reached out and initiated things. It was the day her end of the friendship truly bridged to his. They'd had a picnic, lying there all day, staring at the projections of clouds till they faded to reveal the stars, just talking. About everything, school, family, likes, dislikes, hopes, dreams, fears…well, as much as either of them was willing to for the start of their friendship.

She could tell he was keeping things from her, giving vague stories or changing the subject, but she was too. And he let her, both of them knowing when the other did so but letting it go.

"What is it?" LJ asked, seeing her staring at him, as they sat in the canteen that Sunday, just one week later.

"Nothing," she smiled, shaking her head, "Just…I'm _glad_ we're friends."

He beamed, "Told ya so!"

She laughed and threw a chip at him.

She realized one other thing, why the Doctor and Evy insisted on forming friendships, despite knowing the danger it posed not only to them but to their friends.

It was because they would do _anything_ to protect their friends along the way.

And she would. She'd protect LJ if anyone tried to use him against her. She'd stop them, she'd fight, and she was damn sure she'd win.

A/N: Awww, River's getting protective :) I love it when characters get protective :)

Just wanted to quickly say that my story Recollections will be posted, absolute latest by the 15th, hoping for the 10th though. I've got two exams and a paper/presentation this coming week so time is short to write. But it will get updated, and we'll also get a Christmas and New Years themed chapter for both that and this story when those days come around :)


	8. 8-Ball, Corner Pocket

A/N: This is going to be a relatively short chapter as…it's a prequel to The Angels Take Manhattan! Woo! Sorry, I was writing out Pond Life and thought about maybe writing other prequels when I thought, it would be interesting to write one of my own. This chapter will also coordinate with my Sneak Peeks chapter for that same episode so it's sort of a double treat. I hope you enjoy :)

~8~

The Angels Take Manhattan Prequel:

8-Ball, Corner Pocket

There was a light haze of smoke filtering through the air of the bar, filled with all sorts of questionable and mysterious characters who frequented the streets of old New York in the late 1930s. Men stood around, talking quietly in the shadows, their fedoras on their heads, pinstripe suits as the norm, polished shoes. The women, dressed to kill, all dolled up in their slinky outfits, fur lined coats, their hair pinned in just that way. The joint was hopping though, 'Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)' by Benny Goodman playing lightly out of a jukebox, the bartenders serving rounds, the clatter of pool balls breaking on the green tables.

It was just the place to be if you wanted information.

River Song leaned over the pool table, aiming her pool stick at the white cue ball, readying herself, before hitting it, knocking the last stripped ball of her set into the side pocket. She smirked, straightening up, giving her partner, a young man in a similar black suit and fedora, a look, completely oblivious, or at the very least ignoring, the stares of various men around them at her attire, "I think I win."

The man across from her grinned, tipping his hat at the black 8-ball sitting there, waiting for her to sink it, "Still got one more shot to go before that…Harmony," he paused a moment before using her 'code' name, speaking in a false American accent, sounding very much like a favored godfather of his.

She simply gave a light huff before turning to the pool table, lining her shot, and hitting the ball. The cue ball bounced off the side of the table, hitting the 8-ball, right into the corner pocket. She smirked, "I win…again."

He scoffed, "I don't know why you insist on playing _me_," he remarked, "When you could hustle any of these men."

"Right," she laughed sarcastically.

"I'm serious," he smirked, "With cleavage like that you could fell an ox at twenty feet. They wouldn't stand a chance."

She smirked as well, leaning forward to rest her hands on the edge of the pool table, emphasizing her cleavage, "Is _that_ why you lost then?"

He rolled his eyes, "I lost because you said I wasn't allowed to use math to win."

"Mhmm," she hummed.

"Math works!" he insisted, thinking of all the angles that could have helped him sink his shots if he'd been allowed to calculate them, "Seriously! There's a mathmatical equation for everything! Pool, figure skating, sports...really _bad_ ties..."

She laughed, "Like the bow-tie?"

He grinned, "Exactly," when he caught sight of someone at the bar.

He straightened a bit, '_Look_,' he called to her in her mind, nodded towards the man, Private Investigator Samuel Garner, just the man they were looking for, just the man, they'd heard, was being sought by others as well.

They watched as he was approached by two burly men, one black, the other white, the man turning, not seeming at all intimidated as the men spoke with him, '_Think the deal's going down?_' River asked, walking over to her partner's side as he stood there leaning on his pool stick.

'_Nah_,' he shook his head, '_Grayle would want for more privacy,_' he smirked, '_Anyone_ _could overhear them._'

River smirked as well, '_Anyone…like us._'

Time Lords, and apparently Human plus Time Lord, had rather good hearing.

'_Oh yes,_' he smirked, before placing his stick down and holding out his arm to River, "Shall we, Miss Brooks?"

"We shall, Mr. Smith," she grinned, taking his arm as they followed the man out.

They knew a Mr. Grayle was after information on the Weeping Angels, they just weren't able to find him, the man seemingly untraceable and undetectable, very careful to keep his whereabouts a secret.

But now, they had just the lead they needed.

A/N: Very short, I know, but those prequels are killers man! So short, but so suspenseful. I hope this one was ok. Believe me, the next chapter will be much longer than this :)


	9. Nine Rings of Power

Nine Rings of Power

"I look ridiculous," River muttered as she and LJ walked through the halls of the university, heading for the gymnasium which had been converted to a party area for the night. It was an annual event at the university, a Halloween Dance/Costume Party.

She grabbed the white fabric of her dress and hiked it up so she could actually walk without tripping, the dress LJ had somehow talked her into wearing was quite long, with a train in the back, very beautiful though…but she preferred pants and boots. She'd even tried her hand at wearing high heels just to possibly be able to walk in the dress, but to no avail.

She hated the costume, she really did. The dress was too long, too fancy, there was plastic stuck to her ears, fake jewelry in her hair, sparkles on her skin…

And worse yet…

LJ had made her straighten her hair!

It was ghastly! Her hair was _curly_. It should always _remain_ curly. It just…didn't suit her being straight. Well, it wasn't _completely_ straight, her curls had rebelled against all the product and heat she'd tried to apply. Her hair ended up being wavy instead with just a hint of straightness, which LJ actually said worked better for the pairing they were trying to portray.

"You look beautiful Riv," LJ said, having said it so much to counter her complaint that it ended up being more like a sigh than anything remotely reassuring, "For the 418th time," he mumbled under his breath.

River's eyes narrowed, "What was that?"

"Nothing!" he said quickly, "I said nothing, therefore you heard nothing. Nothing at all."

River shook her head, "I don't see why I couldn't have your costume," she reached out and tugged on his white cloak, covering more of his outfit.

He just rapped her on the head lightly with his white staff, "Because I'm a boy."

"That's no excuse."

He laughed at that as she pouted, she _really_ hated her costume.

"And you'd have to wear the beard," he stroked his false white beard.

"I'd take beard over dress any day," she elbowed him in the gut.

She hadn't any idea how he'd managed to talk her into this. It had only been a few months, well, two months, since she'd met him, and he'd already figured out ways to talk her into things. She really needed to step up her game, she had to find some way to talk him into things too.

It just wasn't fair!

"Why did you even want to be them anyway?" she sighed as they neared the hall that led to the gym. She just couldn't wait for everyone inside those doors to gawk at her as she stood there awkwardly.

Sarcasm, you had to love it.

"I never told you?" he looked at her.

"Told me what?"

"The old stories are real."

She scoffed, "Right."

"No, seriously! They are!"

"And how is that possible?" she shook her head, "Last time I checked Earth didn't have elves or dwarves or erks."

"Orcs," he corrected quickly.

"Whatever."

"That's because the stories didn't take place on Earth."

"Not following."

He sighed, "You know how there are thousands of life sustaining planets out there," he gestured to a window where they could see the stars, she nodded, "There are even more species, including those that are similar to what humans call elves and dwarves and orcs, even hobbits!"

"But how did these supposedly real stories get written about by an Earth writer if all this happened on another planet."

He smirked, loving the in she'd just given him to make their friendship more unique, "Well, there are these rumors, whispers really, that there's a man from the stars...called the Doctor," he just _barely_ managed to keep his laugh in when River stiffened, her eyes widening, surprised he knew about the Doctor. He couldn't help but think that he couldn't wait to see her reaction when she found out just HOW he knew the Doctor, how well. But, for now, he decided to keep the mention of his father was more than enough of a shock, best keep his mother a secret, "And he travels all over the Universe, having adventures, rescuing people, taking people with him and so. There are rumors that not_ all_ his companions are willing participants, some end up there on accident."

River blinked, shaking her head, "You're not telling me that J.R.R. Tolkien was an accidental companion are you?"

He grinned, "Exactly Riv! Well done!" she punched him in the arm, making him pout and rub it, "The Doctor was on Earth once, ended up taking Tolkien along for the ride to a distress call on another planet."

"That just so happened featured all the characters from _Lord of the Rings_?" she raised an eyebrow.

"_Similar_ characters," he corrected, "I doubt the names were the same, that's just plagiarism," he shook his head, "Anyway, the stories go that he and Tolkien, with the help of a four children, were able to stop this alien from trying to take over the world with this powerful will-suppressor device…"

"The One Ring?" River guessed.

"Yep," he popped the p, "It was a little different than in the novels though. The One Ring really worked by creating a net with the nine rings of power gifted to the humans as a way to control the species, like blood control but on a wider scope, to launch war against the 'dwarves' and 'elves' as they were more weak-willed than the other two and become servants of the alien, who gave five rings to the 'dwarves' and three to the 'elves' as a means of hiding the deceit in giving controlling rings to the humans. Well, not really, those other rings _were_ meant to weaken the species, cause them to die out, which...they sort of did in the novels now that I think about it," he shook his head, "Anyway, the Doctor, well…" he laughed a little, "Tolkien was so thankful that the Doctor had shown him such a world, inspired him so much, that he created a wizard, based on the Doctor. One that didn't exist on the planet…"

River stared at him, "You're not telling me that Gandalf is really the Doctor?"

"Well," he winced, "Not the way he's portrayed in the books, no. He's not a wise, old man. Well, he is. Well, he's old in one sense, and wise I suppose. But I mean, if the rumors are to be believed, that's not the only story the Doctor pops up in."

River blinked, "What, is he like the good wizard in _all_ the fairytales?"

He stared at her, "How'd you know?"

She shook her head, "And you wanted to dress us up as this," she gestured at their costumes, "Because of a story like that?"

He grinned, "Well, can you think of anyone better to be for Halloween but the Doctor?"

"Evy," she said.

He had to blink and smirked, "Who?" he had to play dumb for now, he couldn't let on that he knew much more about the Doctor and Evy than she thought he did.

Oh he would LOVE her reaction when she found out who he was.

"There are rumors, whispers really," she mocked his words playfully with a smile, "That there's a woman who travels with the Doctor, Evy, helps keep him in line, does the impossible regularly," she assumed this particular adventure had been before Evy had joined the Doctor on his travels.

"Really?" he asked as she nodded, "You've heard about the Doctor then?"

She smirked, "I'm planning to write my dissertation on him and Evy," she admitted, "Finding them through history by use of archaeological evidence."

He whistled, she had NO idea just _how_ busy those two had been, her dissertation would be a few hundred books long by the time she was done, and still new evidence would be popping up, "Maybe I'll help you," he offered.

She nodded, but then they reached the doors to the gym. She sighed, staring at the doors.

"Shall we?" LJ held out his arm to her.

She took a breath and then his arm, "Let's get this over with."

He laughed and opened the doors, the two of them stepping in to join their peers…

Later on, River would have to admit, it wasn't quite _so_ bad the costumes LJ had selected for them, upon the promise that she could pick the next year's costumes. They had won the costume contest after all.

Everyone loved their Gandalf and Galadriel costumes.

A/N: Lol, there was a bridge-minisode where Amy was talking to the Doctor in Series 5 and he mentioned that he was like a Space Gandalf. I HAD to throw that in here for this chapter, turns out, here, he really _is_ Gandalf lol :) Also explains where River learned about how he's 'the good wizard' in the stories in The Pandorica Opens. I really have NO idea where this chapter came from. I was thinking it was either a toss up between Nine Lives, with the duo finding a cat or something, or this. I love Halloween so...this it was lol.

Little hint about the next chapter...something LJ does will one day save his father's life :)


	10. 10 Downing Street

10 Downing Street

"I can't believe we're really doing this," River muttered as she stood beside LJ, dressed in more modern earth clothes as they were on modern day earth, circa the early 1990s, LJ holding a slightly large briefcase.

"Why not Riv?" he glanced at her as they stood outside the famous doors of 10 Downing Street, "It's not the strangest adventure we've gone on."

"No," she agreed, "It's just the most sensitive one yet," she sighed, eyeing the doors.

"It's not really."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow, "J, if you do what you're planning, you'll be creating the future!"

"No I won't," he countered.

"Really? How is adapting the plans for the reconstruction of 10 Downing Street to alter the steel lining in the walls so your father will be safe when he faces the Slitheen _not_ creating the future?"

"Ah," he grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck, "Well…it's…"

"You didn't think that far ahead did you?"

"I did!" he insisted, "I have. I…" he snapped his fingers, shouting, "Oh!" making her jump beside him, "I've got it!" he grinned at her, "We won't touch the linings, we'll just adapt the storage cupboard."

"The storage cupboard?"

"Remember?" he nudged her, reminding her of the stories he'd told her about his parents, ever since she'd found out who they were a few months ago, "Dad hid in the storage cupboard to avoid the blast of the missile," he snorted, "There's _no way_ a room like that _wouldn't_ be obliterated while the steel lined rooms _were_," he nodded, "Yeah, it _had_ to have been adapted at some point, by someone knowing what sort of blast was coming. It makes sense!" he grinned at her, "So, in a way, we've _already_ adapted the storage cupboard because it was adapted in the future. Which means we _have_ to adapt it now to maintain the timeline!"

River shook her head, muttering about how she probably _should_ take those physics classes LJ had recommended, but sighed, "Well, let's get this over with then."

He beamed and knocked on the door, waiting only a moment before it opened to reveal a construction worker, "Hello!" he held up a small wallet for the man to squint at the blank paper, "Js. Smith and Mist, Prime Minister's assistants," he put the wallet away, "Just here to check on the restoration and construction."

The man nodded, seeing their credentials, and stepped back to let them in. LJ grinned, winking at River, silently thanking his parents for the psychic paper they'd given him.

"As you can see," the man gestured around, "We're nearly done, just finishing the meeting room this way," he led them down the hall to the conference room where various men and women were standing by the walls, the panels removed, to install the steel lining LJ knew would one day help save his father and his companion from the Slitheen.

"Very nice work," LJ commented, resting a hand on a sheet of the steel lining, "Sturdy."

River rolled her eyes, "What about that?" she nodded at the storage cupboard a few feet away, walking over to it to peer inside, it was empty, save for a few building items. She knew they should probably be quick about this, security had been heightened on the entire street, it would only be a matter of time before someone figured out they were _not_ the Prime Minister's assistants.

"That's just the storage cupboard miss," the worker remarked, "Not much to do there. Don't think the extra paper and cleaning supplies need to be kept _that_ safe."

"Still," LJ cut in, agreeing with River, "If it's alright with you, Miss Brooks and I would like to be in charge of securing the cupboard."

The man stared at him, "The cupboard sir?"

"Yep," LJ beamed, "Prime Minister's orders," he nodded, "_Every_ room is to be secure."

The man frowned, "Even the cupboard?"

"_Especially_ the cupboard."

The man blinked but shook his head, "If it's the Prime Minister's orders…"

"Come on then, Mr. Smith," River cut in, taking his arm, "Let's get a preliminary examination of the room, shall we?"

He grinned and nodded, following her into the cupboard, laughing as she shut the door behind her.

"What?" she asked, shaking her head, not sure what he was laughing about.

"Nothing, nothing, it's just…" he gave a chuckle, "Remember the _last_ time we were in a cupboard together?"

She rolled her eyes, "Honestly I have _no_ idea how that boy thought we were _ever_ doing _that_!"

"Well, we _were_ making some strange noises," he had to admit, thinking about the boy who had discovered them in a cupboard of the university a few weeks ago.

"Because you got trapped in Harry Houdini's straightjacket," she countered, deadpanning, "And I was struggling to get you out of it," she rolled her eyes, "As though that boy could confuse us trying to free you with us…"

"Dancing?" LJ cut in with a smirk.

River rolled her eyes, whacking him on the arm, making him pout and rub it before she got back to looking around the room, "Right, so how are we going to secure this room without that lot realizing we're adding alien technology to it?"

"Well, we won't be adding alien_ technology_," he explained, he'd already given a lot of thought to how he'd secure the walls in a way that others wouldn't notice, "We'll be using alien _supplies_ though."

She frowned, "Like what?"

He just set his briefcase down on the ground and opened it up to reveal it was, as all things were with Time Lords, bigger on the inside. And, sitting inside it, was a thin sheet of black...something...which LJ proceeded to flash with the sonic he'd pulled from his pocket, disengaging a sort of light that was filtering around the edges of the slab, an anti-gravity device River realized...which meant whatever the slab was had to be heavy.

River knelt down and looked at it, touching it a moment before frowning, "Can I borrow your sonic?" she asked, she'd left hers at the school when LJ had rushed her out that morning, wanting to get this taken care of before classes.

He flipped the sonic over but didn't give it up, "Come on Riv, you can guess," he nudged her. She'd grown far too used to using the scanners at the school or their sonics. He wanted her to be able to at least give a best guess if she ever got stuck without one or the other.

She sighed, eyeing it closely, "Well it's dense…"

"Densest material in the Universe," he added, helping her, hinting at it.

She blinked, "Dwarf Star Alloy?"

"Spot on!" he cheered.

"How'd you manage slabs of Dwarf Star Alloy?"

He shrugged, "Well I wasn't going to settle for something cheap like sheet rock."

This was his _father_, and not _just_ his father, but his father's companion _and_ the future Prime Minister that would be hiding in this room. He was _not_ about to take _any_ chances on any sort of material short of something he _knew_ would protect his dad from anything, Dwarf Star Alloy. Nothing got in, nothing got out…except a TARDIS, because they were just incredible like that.

He reached into the case to lift it, "Little help?" he asked, struggling. She rolled her eyes but helped him pick the slab up, looking around the room that was also stripped of its paneling, ready for new wood to be set up. Luckily there wasn't much light in the room and the empty panels looked black, so setting the slabs up behind the beams wouldn't be too noticeable to the humans.

They got to work, setting up slab after slab around the room, the cracks in the slabs sealing against themselves as they worked, borrowing a ladder from the workers as they got up higher and to the ceiling.

They stepped back and admired their work, the alloy set up behind the wooden beams that made up the structure of the room, masking their existence in the natural dark of the small cupboard, lit only by a single light bulb above them. The humans would never know it was there once they put the wall panels back up, and neither would the Time Lord that would one day hide in it.

It would probably seem strange to the Doctor, in the future, that the steel lined walls outside this small room were demolished in the blast of the missile that stopped the Slitheen, while this little room remained completely standing, not even touched on the inside. He'd chalk it up to a stroke of luck, his companion to the smallness and sturdiness of the cupboard.

River and LJ smiled at each other, they knew the truth though. It was oddly nice to know that they would be responsible for the Doctor seeing another day, long before he had his reasons to live and to fight returned to him. LJ wondered if his father would ever know the truth, but, then again, it was nice to share this secret, this triumph and adventure with River.

As they walked out of 10 Downing Street, having given the construction workers their approval, he couldn't help but wonder, what other adventures had his father had where he'd mysteriously lived when the circumstances were against him, like in the cupboard?

Would he and River have a hand in his survival like they had just then?

He didn't know, but, as he draped his arm over River's shoulders absently, he knew he couldn't wait to find out.

A/N: I always thought it was strange that the entire building, the room with the steel-lined walls, was destroyed, but the little room they hid in remained entirely intact. If you watch that episode of Series 1 closely you can see that the Doctor, Rose, and Harriet step out of what looks like an intact box, with black panels. I just thought it would be interesting for LJ to have had a hand in it :)

Next chapter seems like it's shaping up to be a touching one that will echo into some things River will say in The Angels Take Manhattan :)

And...just wanted to make a little announcement...tomorrow I will be posting a new Sherlock/OC series, The Jackie Holmes Chronicles, starting with my new story Holmes, Sweet Holmes, a little play on Home, Sweet Home :)


	11. 11:11

11:11

River glanced up at LJ, an awkward move given how they were positioned. They were lying on their backs, on the green grass of the gardens of the university, looking up at the stars through the domed glass ceiling. Typically the glass would be a holographic projection of clouds, artificial sun streaming in on a timed fashion to give the plants the botany students were studying a chance to examine the normal growth patterns of the different vegetation. But when the 'day' time came to an end, the projection would be transitioned to a clear glass view out at the stars. Usually they'd both observe them through a telescope but, there were time, when LJ would suddenly get quiet and thoughtful, almost...sad. He would take her by the hand and lead her there at night to just look up at the stars in silence.

It was a rather different silence than she was used to with him. Often it was a comfortable one, or one of stunned silence when he would rattle off something that threw her or bemused her or made her think he was mad...or made her want to slap him...those were the most common silences. She didn't particularly like this silence though, it was the silence where she knew something was bothering him but he wouldn't say, he wouldn't even think it, at least not where she could hear it in his mind. And, while she knew that there were some things he NEEDED to keep hidden from her, information about the future and whatnot, it still hurt just a little that he DID keep things from her when she was so open with him.

She hated this silence in particular because it was a sad one. He was hurting and she didn't know why. She didn't know what she could do or say to make it better. And she didn't like that, she was his _best friend_, it was her job to cheer him up when he was melancholy.

She looked back up at the stars, her head lying on LJ's stomach, her hands on her own stomach, while his arms were behind his head, his legs crossed, just…staring.

"What is it?" she asked, she always asked even if he never said.

"The stars," he answered, and she knew he knew that wasn't what she meant.

She sighed, going along with it, "What about them?"

"I've made so many wishes on them, you know," he murmured, thoughtful. She glanced at him again, she _hadn't_ known that, "On coins in fountains, on wishbones, shooting stars, the first star I see, birthday cake candles, any time you could wish, in dozens of cultures, I've done it. I've wished for the same thing."

She frowned, "What?"

He lifted his head to look at her with a small smile, "Can't say otherwise it won't come true."

She rolled her eyes, "If you've been wishing on all those, it means it hasn't come true yet. And if it hasn't yet, it might not ever, so tell me."

His smile grew sad and he put his head back down, shifting to cross his arms over his chest, "That's what I'm afraid of."

She sat up, shifting so she could drop back down beside him instead, "What do you wish for J?"

He kept his gaze on the stars, "I wish…that things would never end," he sighed, "I hate endings."

River blinked, her eyes on him, a bit startled to actually see tears in LJ's eyes, "J…" she shook her head, reaching out to put a hand on his arm, lightly uncrossing them to take his hand, "All things have to come to an end," she smiled, "Otherwise nothing would ever get started."

He blinked, tears now completely there, "I know," he swallowed hard, "Doesn't mean I have to like the fact that it ends."

He looked back at the stars. This was their _last_ day at the university. They would graduate _tomorrow_, River would be Dr. Song, Archaeologist, something she had worked _so hard_ for, that he was _so proud_ of her for.

But he knew what would be coming tomorrow, what she would do at a Lake in Utah, where she would end up.

It was one step closer to her 'killing' the Doctor.

It was one step closer to her being in Stormcage.

It was one step closer to her being pardoned.

It was one step closer to her being Professor Song.

And that was one step closer to the Library.

He closed his eyes...

And he couldn't say a thing about it.

He both loved and hated spending 'human' time with River. He loved it because he got to spend every day with her, just doing normal human things, studying, watching telly, talking…but every day was just one day nearer to graduation. Human time came to an end too quickly, far more quickly than Time Lord time which could extend to the end of the Universe hundreds of times over if they were careful.

River's time was limited.

His time _with_ River was limited.

He would lose his best friend, and that HURT.

There would be times they'd hang out, and she'd say something or do something that would spark him thinking about the Library and he'd get quiet, far quieter than River was used to from him, for no reason. He knew it worried her, but he couldn't tell her what.

"Well it doesn't have to be the end of the _story_," River countered, shrugging as she looked up at the sky, she _hated_ when he was sad, "Maybe it's just the end of a _chapter_."

He sighed, "I wish," he murmured quietly, "I just…endings mean an _end_. It means saying goodbye."

She laughed, "You're telling me you're going to miss the school?" she laughed harder, not seeing him give a small smile, knowing she WOULD think that was what he was talking about, "J you didn't go a single day without complaining about it!"

"I suppose I _will_ miss it though," he had to concede, "Because I spent it with you, and that was a great time, wasn't it?" he looked at her.

"The best," she agreed before she poked him, "But see, only the end of a chapter! We'll still have loads of things to do after. A new start, for the both of us," she smirked, "Spaceman and Timegirl, off to explore the Universe!"

He laughed a little at that, "Still…I wish things didn't have to end."

She glanced at her watch, smiling, "J…it's 11:10."

"And?" he shook his head, confused.

She rolled her eyes, "You said you wished for things not to end every time you could."

"And?"

"Did you ever wish at 11:11?"

"What?"

"That's supposed to be a time to make wishes," she told him, "Some girl from Earth mentioned it in one of my classes, an old Earth superstition."

"Hmm," he hummed, "I've never heard of that."

She looked at her watch again, "10 seconds."

He nodded and River started to count down, pointing at him as soon as it reached 11:11.

LJ closed his eyes and concentrated, wishing harder than ever that things wouldn't end.

That, somehow, River's song wouldn't end.

A/N: Awww :( Poor LJ. You have to feel for the poor kid. And...this chapter actually is the start to explaining River's words in TATM, how she knew about the endings, how upset she got over them. Here, it'll be because she knows how sad endings make LJ. And here, we see exactly what ending LJ doesn't want to see come.

And congrats to all for surviving the 'end of the world' lol. Yay December 22nd :)


	12. 12 Days of Christmas

A/N: I know the 12 Days of Christmas are meant to start _after_ Christmas, but there's a thing on a TV channel around Halloween that is the 13 Nights of Halloween that begin _before_ Halloween as a countdown, imagine it's the same thing here, a countdown _to_ Christmas instead :) Cheers!

~8~

12 Days of Christmas

_On the first day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...A Vortex Manipulator._

"Riv!" a voice shouted as River Song wandered down the halls of Luna University. It was almost Christmas, the university decked out in all sorts of holiday themes and decorations, just a little less than a fortnight left, twelve days. She had gotten all her shopping done, just had to wrap her gifts for LJ and a few for his parents and Baby-him.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Listen," he said quickly, digging in his bag, "I've got to get to my exam, but mum sent a gift, I just wanted to give it to you."

"Thanks," she smiled, taking the gift, the small green wrapped present with a red bow, and looking up at LJ when he just stood there, "You're going to be late."

It was the first of his _last_ winter exams. They'd be graduating next spring.

"Yeah, thanks, never would have guessed that," he replied sarcastically, "I'm not going till you open it."

"But it's not Christmas yet," she countered.

"I know, but in the TARDIS it sort of already is and mum really wants to know if you like it, so if you could hurry it up just a bit..."

She sighed and opened the gift, pulling out a small white box. She frowned, opening it, before her eyes widened, spotting a handmade Vortex Manipulator. Just what she'd been dying to get her hands on for _years_.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

"Brilliant!" LJ cheered, before turning to dash off, "I'll let mum know you like it. Gotta go!"

River laughed as he rushed off, putting the VM back in her box carefully and placing it in her bag.

~8~

_On the second day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Two Sonic Screwdrivers._

"Guess what," LJ beamed as he plopped down before River as she sat in the library, studying.

"What?" she whispered, not glancing up.

He rolled his eyes and slid a small narrow box over to her, on top of her notes, keeping her from studying, "From dad."

River looked at him, "And let me guess, it's Christmas for them so you want me to open it now too."

"Yep," he grinned.

She shook her head but opened the TARDIS blue box with the little white bow on it. She laughed, seeing two sonic screwdrivers sitting there, very ordinary ones, but ones she knew LJ was_ dying_ to experiment on...

She picked one up, handing it to him, he'd destroyed his last sonic trying to upgrade it and had been moping for the last month about it.

"Thanks!" he grinned, taking the offered sonic, the little blue light on it lighting up as he flashed River.

She laughed, flashing her red tipped one at him.

"Quiet!" the librarian hissed, "This is a _library_!"

They looked at each other and burst out in tiny, silent, chuckles.

~8~

_On the third day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Three Little Sontarans._

"What now?" River asked as LJ met up with her outside her exam.

"From Mini-Me," he held out a flat, rectangular, wrapped parcel in white.

She rolled her eyes but had to smile, she really wanted to meet baby-him one day. He must have been adorable. An adorable, drooling mess of a baby. She pulled the paper off, laughing as she saw a child's storybook, 'The Three Little Sontarans.'

"Dad used to read me books like that," he nodded, "Thought you might enjoy it too."

She smiled, "You mean he read it, or did he just flip through it for you?"

LJ laughed, "No, he read it. We CAN read at a normal pace you know."

She snorted. Right...

LJ just loved showing off.

~8~

_On the fourth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Four Tubes of Hallucinogenic Lipstick._

"You're kidding me," River remarked as LJ grinned, holding out a small box to her. She'd just opened it to see four tubes of lipstick, hallucinogenic lipstick, "You _really_ think I go around kissing _that_ many people that I'd need _four_ tubes?"

He snorted, "River you've kissed so many people you've burned through _six tubes_ of _regular_ lipstick already."

Her eyes narrowed, "I WEAR lipstick," she countered, "_Wearing_ it is not the same as _wearing it out_ via kissing!" she whacked him on the arm with the small box.

He just laughed, the spirit of Christmas already working away, he couldn't be mad at Christmas, "Well…just imagine all the things we could get into if you DID need all those tubes!"

And then she smacked him on the back of the head.

~8~

_On the fifth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Five Festive Fezzes._

"I'm _not_ wearing that," River remarked as she opened the box before her to see a fez lying there.

"Come on Riv!" LJ pouted, "We're all wearing them!"

She sighed, looking at the bow-tie wearing Doctor, Evy, and Baby-LJ, before her, on a monitor. Evy had hacked into the computer system of the school, wanting to 'pop in' to say Merry Christmas even though they weren't actually popping in and it wasn't actually Christmas yet, the Doctor had got the timing a bit off when he'd helped her.

The three of them were each wearing a fez, as was LJ, and now they were waiting for her to wear one as well.

She sighed, it was for Christmas, and Baby LJ was waving his arms excitedly, tugging at the tassel of his own fez, Evy trying desperately to keep the miniature fez on her son's head. She picked hers up and put it on her head.

"Merry Christmas!" the Doctor cheered.

~8~

_On the sixth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Six Fish Fingers and Custard._

"I'm not eating that," River grimaced as LJ held out a small bowl of custard, six fish fingers sticking out of them.

"Oh come on Riv," he grinned, "Dad sent them specially for you!" he wiggled the bowl before her, "He somehow found out that you'd never had fish fingers and custard before and…"

River's eyes narrowed, "He just…_found out_ did it?"

"Yep."

"All on his own?"

"Yep."

"Mysteriously?"

"Yep."

"From you."

"Yep…no!" his eyes widened as she smirked, she'd gotten better at that, tricking him into confessing things. He sighed, "Alright, alright, so…I _might_ have mentioned it in passing…"

He'd called his father up as _soon_ as he'd found out.

"Look, it's a really great treat," he shook his head, holding it out to her again, "Just give it a try."

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"It's disgusting J!"

"Ah," he grinned, "But how do you _know_ if you've never _tried_ it?"

She rolled her eyes, knowing he'd use that argument till it was beaten to death before continuing to use it even after. She sighed, grabbing a fish finger, dipped in the custard, and took a bite. She chewed it for a moment before nearly gagging and turning to spit it out into a napkin as LJ sniggered.

"There," she crossed her arms, "I tried it. You can eat the rest."

"Nah," he shook his head, setting the bowl down.

"Why not?" her eyes narrowed.

He shrugged, "Tried it once, it was disgusting," he stuck out his tongue.

River's jaw tensed, and he'd made _her _eat it?

"J…"

"Yes Riv?"

"Run."

LJ's eyes widened and he took off, an angry River chasing after him.

~8~

_On the seventh day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Seven Keys to Doomsday._

"Another gift from Mini-Me," LJ called, handing her another rectangular object.

She laughed, pulling the silver wrapping off it, she rather liked Baby-LJ's gifts, they were…surprisingly thoughtful for a baby. Every book she was given of his gave her another look into what he'd been like as a baby, how he'd been raised, the stories he knew.

She laughed, "'The Seven Keys to Doomsday?' _That_ was a _bedtime_ story?" she raised an eyebrow at him, "Rather dark isn't it?"

He scoffed, "Oh and a Huntsman cutting a wolf's stomach open after said wolf _ate_ a human is so much better?"

She rolled her eyes, widening a bit as she saw another title above it, "Snow White? '_Snow White_ and the Seven Keys to Doomsday?'"

He smirked, "Where do you think the Brothers Grimm got all their ideas from?"

She blinked, "You're not telling me that they were adapting Time Lord fairytales for humans?"

"No," he laughed, "But, sitting round a campfire, some stories _do_ come up, they're exchanged…"

"The Doctor?" she asked, wanting to know. It was always fascinating to learn just how much of a hand that man had had in shaping human existence.

"Actually, mum," he smirked, "Dad wasn't too pleased when Jacob hit on her…"

River laughed, recalling various tales of how quite a few men had taken to making their affection for LJ's mother known…much to the ire of his father.

She looked down at the book again, she really couldn't wait to actually _meet_ Baby-LJ one day.

~8~

_On the eighth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Eight Dissertation Sources._

"And who's this from?" River asked as she sat on her bed, eating some dinner with LJ as the boy brought some food over along with a slightly large box, wrapped in brown paper with pink polka dots.

"Me," he told her, "But…I think you might want to open it now. Knowing you, you'll _really_ want to have the extra days to take a look through."

She frowned, confused, but put her food aside to open the present. She pulled the lid off, looking in to see eight books on their sides, their spines up for her to see them. Her eyes widened, her hearts racing as she saw the titles, knowing that there _had_ to be a reason LJ was giving her those particular books.

She pulled one out, flipping open to the table of contents, her eyes widening, seeing reference to the Doctor in a chapter title, flipping to that page, skimming it. She did the same with the other books, all of them specifically referencing the Doctor at a key point in history, _by name_.

"Oh my God…" she breathed, staring up at him, her eyes wide, "J…"

He shrugged, "He's my dad, I know what he gets up to, the people he's met. Some of them wrote about him," he tapped the book in her hand, "I figured this could help with your dissertation, I know you needed a few more sources…"

"Thank you!" she shouted, half-throwing herself at him, tackling him off the edge of her bed where he'd sat and onto the floor, hugging him in thanks as he 'oof'ed and laughed, happy he'd made her so happy.

~8~

_On the ninth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Nine Bags of Jelly Babies._

"Oh my God!" River cheered, tearing a bag open and popping the morsel within into her mouth, chewing happily.

LJ laughed, "I take it you like it?"

"Of course," she beamed, "You know I love Jelly Babies!" she popped another one into her mouth.

He'd given her a little gift bag, which she'd dug through, only to pull out nine small bags of Jelly Babies, her favorite treat.

"Thank you!" she tossed one at him, laughing as he caught it in his mouth.

He chewed, laughing as well, he'd wanted to get her something sweet…she'd need it when she saw the gift his father had gotten her.

Oh boy…

~8~

_On the tenth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Ten Bow-Ties._

River blinked as she pulled out ten bow-ties from the box LJ had given her, a gift from his father.

LJ rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah…sorry about that."

That was all that had to be said.

~8~

_On the eleventh day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Eleven Different Doctors._

"Got something in from mum," LJ remarked as he dropped a flat envelope before River at breakfast, Christmas Eve Eve, the 23rd of December.

She bit her toast, holding it in her mouth as she picked up the envelope, sliding a finger across the top to open it. She reached in, pulling out a lovely folder-like item. She frowned, opening it, before looking at LJ in confusion, "Who're they?" she asked, turning the folder so he could see it was like a small book, full of 11 different sketches of some man. The only one she recognized was the Doctor she'd met when the parents had come to visit.

LJ grinned, looking at the men softly, "They're dad."

"No they're not."

He shook his head, "Remember, we can regenerate? Change our faces?"

Her eyes widened as she snatched the booklet back, flipping through the pages, they weren't in any particular order, there were old men mixed with younger men, tall men with short...but they were all the same man apparently.

He laughed, "Imagine that, 11 different Doctors, for Christmas."

River sighed, "Now I just need 11 different Evys to go with it."

LJ laughed, sipping his tea, "Maybe for your birthday."

~8~

_On the twelfth day of Christmas my best friend gave to me...Twelve Jammie Dodgers._

"I'm telling you he doesn't exist," River remarked dryly as LJ scooped some of the cookies he'd just made off the cooling tray, a mound of Jammie Dodgers already sorted and finished.

"Yes he does, and his name is Jeff," LJ countered, "I've met Father Christmas personally Riv."

River rolled her eyes at that, there were times she wasn't sure if he was making things up or not, "And you think putting Jammie Dodgers out will make him visit, like a beacon or something."

"Oh, no," he scrunched his face, "We're not making the cookies for him. He prefers chocolate chip anyway."

She blinked, confused, "Then who are we making them for?"

He put twelve on a plate, handing them to her to keep, before taking the rest and placing it before a makeshift fireplace in the wall of her dorm room, "You'll see," he stepped back, eyeing his watch, "Only a few seconds before Christmas," he grinned, quietly counting down the time as she munched on a Jammie Dodger.

And then, just as it hit midnight, Christmas day, the familiar old wheezing sounded.

River smiled when the bright blue box appeared before them, though she frowned a moment later, there was something...different...about it.

"Remember how you asked to meet MY parents," LJ remarked, heading over to knock on the TARDIS door, "Well...Merry Christmas Riv."

The doors to the TARDIS opened and two _very different_ Time Lords stepped out.

"Merry Christmas indeed," River breathed, touched that she got to see that little bit of the future LJ always kept from her, HIS parents.

The twelfth Doctor and Evy.

A very Merry Christmas it was.

A/N: No idea who the next Doctor/Evy would be or when they'd be appearing (hopefully not for some time lol) so I kept it a little vague. I hope you liked this chapter. The next one will be posted on New Years Eve and will be the start of the non-sequenced chapters. This story began counting up, 1 to 12, and now we'll just get random adventures of their time together. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed DW won't be aired till April, I have quite a few adventures I want LJ and River to be out on but I can't post them till after TATM where we find out something about their adventures in particular that I don't want to spoil till I post that chapter, so we'll probably get a few more University chapters and so on, maybe an adventure or two of when LJ was in the background of River's adventures with the Doctor and Amy. We'll see :)

But yay, Christmas special airs today! So excited to meet Clara :) And...speaking of Christmas...

Suprise! Christmas gift announcement! Today I will give you...

A new chapter of Recollections.

TWO drabbles for Sneak Peeks (the second to be posted in a few hours).

And! The Woman, for my Sherlock story (Holmes Is Where the Heart Is).

AND! A surprise Supernatural chapter tagged onto the end of 'Heaven!'

So many chapters! I hope you enjoy them.

Happy Holidays!


	13. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

River laughed as LJ made his way back to her side in the large canteen that had been altered to be a sort of party room for the holiday. Well, it wasn't _really_ a holiday per say, it was New Years Eve on Earth and so the university was celebrating it as well. There were rows of tables along the walls with a buffet set up, people in booths handing out funny glasses and hats and small banners to ring in the New Year. It was a little party. Since it was a moon base university, not many people came and went as it was a bit more difficult to travel home between planets than it was between countries. Some of the more wealthy students had no problems getting transportation, teleports and the like, but the majority of the students were there on scholarship, like she and LJ were.

LJ…well…he'd gone all out for New Year's, claiming he wanted it to be memorable for her since it was their first New Year's together. She was absolutely certain she was_ not_ about to forget this one…or how ridiculous he looked. He had a huge top hat on in the colors of the school, silver and black, that had a large 5124 embroidered on it. He was wearing a t-shirt that shouted out Happy New Year! With an image of a cartoon moon with arms waving a banner at the Earth. There were four beaded necklaces hanging around his neck that had a 5-1-2-4 dangling from them. He even had a banner of his own that he was waving around that had Happy New Year on one side and the logo for their school on the other. She'd laughed quiet a bit when he'd turned around to get her a snack and she'd seen 'Have a Happy New MOON' printed on the back of his sweatpants.

It would certainly be memorable, that was for sure.

"You're completely mad," she called to him, above the bustle of people talking to their friends, the televisions blaring news reports from all over the Earth portraying the different peoples celebrating, and the music playing in the background.

"You know you love it," he nudged her, handing her a small bit of punch he'd gone to get them. As it turned out the cookies that had been provided were rather dry despite their warm gooey appearance.

"Haven't a clue why," she remarked, taking a sip.

"Because you love _me_!" he cheered, "I'm your best friend Riv."

"Again, haven't a clue why," she laughed, "Absolutely no idea how you managed to do it."

"I'm just brilliant like that," he grinned cheekily, "And besides, it's not like you'd turn down this," he gestured at himself.

She just shook her head at him, glancing at a monitor to see that it was nearing midnight in London and turned to him, "So what are your New Year's resolutions?"

"My what?" he asked, frowning.

She laughed, he was…odd.

He knew so much about so many different species, about so much that happened in history, but there were little tiny traditions that threw him for a loop. Tiny stories, random stories, that he hadn't heard of and listened to her eagerly when she explained it. Though…she _did_ regret telling him about the supposed Tooth Fairy…he'd gone mental on that one. Insisting it was some sort of intergalactic calcium thief that had to be investigated and stopped before some dastardly deed was accomplished using the stolen teeth of the children. She'd just stared at him as though he'd completely lost his mind and told him the Tooth Fairy was not an alien. To which he'd countered all the 'unnatural' qualities the fairy had and relating them to other species. Of course, when she'd told him to pick just one species that the fairy could be that embodied all those qualities, he hadn't had one. But still, he'd gotten her to agree to a whole investigation, setting up a trap with a tooth and a pillow and a contraption meant to hold any non-human life form at bay, he hadn't wanted the little girl they'd convinced to help them to get trapped instead. And when nothing had happened throughout the entire night they'd camped out, he'd claimed it was the trap they'd set up and gone to inspect it…and gotten trapped in it himself.

She'd laughed at that, till she recalled what he'd said about it trapping only non-humans and realized he was an alien.

_That_ had thrown _her_.

How had she not noticed her best friend wasn't human? He certainly looked human enough, though when she'd thought about it, he didn't always _act_ like a human or sound very much like one at times. She'd been tempted to leave him in the trap till he told her which alien species he was but he'd just smirked and told her to figure it out.

She did love a challenge.

She'd been working on it for a while though, there were quite a few humanoid aliens. And, by rights, almost anyone not from Earth was considered an 'alien' at the University so that opened the door to planets that had human-like people on them, like Sto or even New Earth in the future. There were so many possibilities, but she reckoned she'd worked through about half the species that looked human so far. But…when she'd told him that, he'd just smiled a secret smile and shaken his head, claiming, 'Who said I look human? What if you look like my species?'

"New Year's Resolution," she repeated, "It's when you make a promise or two of something you either want to change about yourself and spend the year working on, or something you want to do, or things like that. You make a promise and spend the year keeping it."

"That's brilliant!" he cheered, beaming, he _loved_ learning new things about Earth traditions. His mother had been quiet tightlipped about most of it, wanting him to 'experience it for yourself' as learning about it from a 'human' made it more meaningful, "What's yours?"

"Oh no," she shook her head, "I asked you first."

"But I don't know what a resolution's supposed to sound like," he countered, "So…lead by example!"

She rolled her eyes but sighed, "My resolution is to…be better."

"But you're perfect already," he frowned.

"I mean, in general," she explained, though she couldn't help but smile at that, he truly was the best friend she'd ever had...possibly even better than her mother when they'd grown up together. He never got on her case about the mad things she would get into or chastise her for stealing things, he was JUST as bad...if not worse, "Try and get better marks in school, try to be a better person, a better friend to you, I know I've been rather hostile and closed off and that's not fair because…you really _are_ my best friend J."

He blinked, "J?"

She actually blushed a bit at that, "You call me Riv," she remarked.

He grinned, "I like it," he told her as she smiled, "But Riv, you're already a great friend to me…"

"But I want to be the _best_ friend to you," she cut in, "Like you are to me."

He smiled softly at that, "Well then, thank you River."

She nodded. It was also…she kept _a lot_ from him and she knew from her time growing up with her mother that there should be no secrets between friends, especially best friends. She was always careful about what she said to him, not wanting him to know about Kovarian, about the Silence, whoever they were, and what they'd done to her, whatever that had been, she couldn't really remember most of it. But…in keeping secrets from him, it meant he had a reason to keep secrets from her. And…she really didn't like that. For some reason, she didn't like him keeping things from her.

If they were going to be Spaceman and Timegirl, they'd need to have equal footing and trust. It was high time she started building that up with him.

"Right then," she nodded, "What about you?"

He just looked at her, a soft look in his eyes, "My New Year's resolution is…to give you the most extraordinary life imaginable."

She laughed, "J, a resolution's supposed to be for _1_ year."

"Well," he pouted, "Then I'll make the same resolution _every_ year then."

She had to smile though, "Thanks."

She had no doubts he'd be able to keep his promise. Already she'd had an extraordinary time with him, done so much, learned so much. And that promise he'd made the first day they'd met, of all those adventures they'd go on…she couldn't wait.

"Brilliant," he nodded.

"10!" they heard their peers shout.

They looked over, surprised they'd missed the fact that it had gotten so close to the New Year without noticing.

"9! 8! 7!"

River laughed, "6!" she joined in.

"5! 4! 3!"

"2!" LJ shouted, reaching out to take River's hand.

"1!" they both joined in, confetti falling from the ceiling as people clapped and cheered.

LJ tugged River closer, "Happy New Year Riv," he whispered, kissing her on the cheek.

She smiled, winding her arm around his waist to half-hug him, "Happy New Year J."

And it certainly would be if they had something to say about it.

A/N: I really do wish all of you a happy New Year too. I hope it's great!

Quick notes...

I've been updating this story fairly quickly, but that was mostly to get to 12 Days of Christmas by Christmas so I'm going to be slowing down. I _do_ promise to get, at _the very least_, 2 chapters of this story up per month.

Tomorrow I will be posting my new OC series, The Heart of Time Saga, with its first story A Treasured Discovery.

And...I got a few PMs and reviews wondering about/suggesting videos for my stories. So...in the little time I have to spare before school starts, I'm going to be working on them. I plan to do one video for Supernatural, one for Sherlock and...one _each_ for _every_ Time Lady. Meaning I'll have one video for each incarnation of the Professor, Evy, and my new OC Angel, (starting when they appear in New Who) AND a background video of their lives on Gallifrey. Check my profile for a link to my new Youtube account. I've posted the background videos for the Academic Series and Lunar Cycle so far :) They're my first attempts ever at making videos so if they're completely awful, that's perfectly fine if you don't like them :)

I have also updated my profile to include a small section at the bottom of it of future stories I plan to write, but haven't gotten to yet.


	14. The Godfather: Captain Jack Harkness

The Godfather: Captain Jack Harkness

"Who are we going to see J?" River asked as they ambled through what looked like modern day Cardiff.

"Someone you've been_ begging_ to meet since I mentioned them," LJ grinned, though remained quite secretive.

"You _do_ know that's not really helpful right?" she huffed, she had quite the list already of people she wanted to meet that LJ had told her about.

There was his 'Aunt' Martha Smith nee Jones and her husband, his uncle, Mickey, his cousins Ricky and Johnny. Then there was his 'Auntie' Donna Temple-Noble and her husband Shaun, his cousin Jen. Well, she already knew his 'Aunt' Amy and 'Uncle' Rory, though he didn't call them that often, claiming it was weird because she was too much a best friend to him to be like his other cousins. There was also his Godfather, Captain Jack Harkness, and the members of his team, like his Aunt Gwen and cousin Anwen and Uncle Rhys. Also his Godmother, couldn't forget THE Sarah Jane Smith, or his cousins Luke, Rani, Clyde, and Sky. She was DYING to meet K9, the robotic dog sounded adorable. Not to mention, quite a few random historical people he claimed to have met.

He'd promised that, eventually, she'd get the chance to meet his family, his rather LARGE family, boy the Doctor and Evy sure got around A LOT! But she supposed it was all a part of their charm, especially Evy's. She knew the main reason LJ was able to claim such a large family was because the Time Lady did _everything_ she could to remain in the lives of her friends, letting her son grow up knowing them and them loving him.

"Well then, it'll always be a surprise, won't it?" LJ grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes at him, elbowing him in the ribs, "I hate surprises."

"Unless they come from me," he countered.

"Because you ARE a surprise," she shot right back, "A surprise wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a banana."

"Bananas are good!" he laughed, "Therefore it's a good surprise. Trust me Riv, I'm not about to take you to meet Cybermen or Daleks or anything."

"Because we'd be killed instantly if you did," she reminded him.

"Not always," he shook his head, leading her to a large fountain, "If you get them at a weak moment, their shield density is compromised. One powerful blast of even a _human_ weapon can kill them, kaput!"

"Good to know," she muttered.

She didn't like hearing about Daleks. LJ had told her about his planet, well...he didn't really _have _to. She'd learned a bit of it from whispers in school and her past, the Last Great Time War, she knew what Daleks were, what they'd done to LJ and his parents, their home. But it eased her mind a little to know that LJ at least had _some _way to fight them if they ever encountered Daleks. She promised herself then and there, as soon as she left the university she would get herself a blaster and never go anywhere without it or some other sort of gun, just in case they ever ran into a Dalek.

"And here we are," he grinned, turning and plopping down a bench, patting beside him for her to sit as well, in between him and a man reading a newspaper.

"Remind me again why we're in CARDIFF?" she asked, sighing as she sat beside him, looking around at the people wandering.

"Because it's the location of Earth's own rift in time," a voice said beside her. She looked over as a rather handsome man in a WWII jacket lowered his paper, grinning, American...actually..._very_ handsome. He grinned, holding out a hand to her, "Captain Jack Harkness."

"River Song," she blushed and shook his hand.

"Stop it Uncle Jack," LJ groaned at that.

"I'm just saying hello," Jack laughed.

"And for you 'just saying hello' means _flirting_. I'd rather have my best friend walk out of here scarred as _little_ as possible thanks."

Jack smirked, "Then you should have gone to visit Sarah Jane."

LJ laughed, getting up to hug the man, "How are you Uncle?"

Jack nodded, "Alright," he eyed LJ, "Still not used to you popping up fully grown though. Just got done babysitting baby you actually."

"Did you give him his own WWII jacket?" River asked, getting up as well, LJ had told her about that when his parents had left after Parent's Day.

"He told you about that?" he nodded at LJ.

River grinned, "Mentioned it in passing."

Jack smirked, "Want to see a picture?" he moved to pull out his phone as LJ's eyes widened.

"No!" LJ shouted, trying to grab it, but Jack, seeming to expect it, just maneuvered him into a headlock as he tossed the phone to River to surf through the pictures, the many,_ many _pictures, most from Evy of when LJ was all dressed up in 'adorable' outfits, while he noogied his Godson's head, "Uncle Jack let me go!" he pouted, squirming.

River laughed, seeing LJ, a baby LJ, a VERY unamused baby LJ, dressed up as a tiny Father Christmas, in tan 'hunting' clothes, as a cowboy, as a bard, in a little suit...among many, many, _many_ other outfits, "Oh ho ho," River smiled, looking at Jack, "Can you make me copies?"

"No he can't!" LJ called, his voice muffled.

"Oh yes I can," Jack nodded, "Come with me," he released LJ who rubbed his neck, pouting, as Jack led them through the crowd to a series of buildings before walking through them, down an alley, "Hold on," he told them as they stepped onto a piece of cardboard lying on the ground. He turned to a brick and pushed it in, a light shooting out of it to scan his eye before the cardboard started to lower itself, a platform.

They took it down to the bottom and stepped out through two sliding doors into another room with a glass door before them. Jack walked up and punched in a code on a pad beside it, the doors unlocking to let them in. River's eyes widened at the sight beyond, a room packed full of technology and weapons, but with a few desks here and there.

"Torchwood," LJ smiled.

"The NEW Torchwood," Jack corrected.

"Fashioned after the old Torchwood," brunette woman said, entering with a small girl beside her, "Hello," she smiled, reaching out to shake River's hand, "I'm Gwen, you must be River."

River blinked, startled, "How did you..."

"LJ doesn't just write his parents from school," Gwen shrugged, "He talks to us too sometimes, told us all about you. Asked if he could bring you round, show you the new hub."

River turned to LJ, who grinned sheepishly, "What?"

River just shook her head, touched, though, that he talked about her to his family. It...made her feel more like a part of it. She hadn't really felt that when she'd grown up, like part of a family. Sure she had her mother and father, but they hadn't known they were her mother or father at the time. But LJ, he told her _so much_ about his family, she felt like she _knew_ them, and to see them so accepting and happy to meet her, made her feel more a part of it.

"Now, someone wanted copies eh?" Jack grinned, heading over to a computer, "Got a storage device?"

River nodded and pulled out a small, rather advanced looking, memory stick. She kept it with her _always_ and _never _let it out of her sight. It was her LIFE. If was all her research so far on the Doctor and Evy, which had grown exponentially since LJ helped steer her in the right direction of where she might find evidence of them. Like a carved wall panel from Rome of a family's very familiar household gods, the gods who had helped them escape Pompeii in their box with a world inside.

Though, now that she thought about it, she _should_ have seen that one coming.

Jack took the stick and managed to plug it up to the computer, hooking his phone up as well to download the pictures. As he flicked through them, clicking on the ones to transfer, one came up that made Rive frown.

"Who's he?" she asked, seeing a picture of Jack with another man in a black suit with a red tie, both of them grinning, happy.

"River," LJ shook his head, quiet.

"No, it's alright," Jack nodded, spinning in his chair, "That's Ianto Jones," River's eyes widened, recognizing the name from stories LJ had told her, "I see you've heard of him," Jack smiled at that, happy the man hadn't been forgotten, touched that Evy had kept her promise to tell her son all about him.

"_So much_," River nodded, "He's amazing. LJ's told me all these stories from Evy and..." she shook her head, eyeing the picture once more, "He really _is_ the best dressed man in the world isn't he?"

Jack laughed, "Oh yeah," before he nodded to himself and began to tell them stories not even _Evy_ knew of Ianto.

LJ and River move to sit on the equipment around them, smiling and laughing as they listened to Jack speak, Gwen joining them with Anwen to help tell some tales, both laughing and smiling as they reminisced about their dear friend.

Later, as LJ and River headed out of Torchwood, having gotten a tour and chance to fiddle with some of the alien tech hidden within, River couldn't help but smile and look at LJ, "Your mum is a _genius_."

"Don't need to tell me that," he nodded, before glancing over, "Why's that?"

River laughed, "Jonathan Ianto Smith," she reminded him, "Remarkable men _should_ have remarkable names."

LJ just smiled and put his arm around River's shoulder, glad she'd enjoyed her time with his Uncle, his Godfather, the head of Torchwood, and also quite relieved that Jack hadn't tried to hit on her...

Much...

A/N: So...you might guess from this chapter I'm going to start another 'mini-series' within the series. First it was numerical-ish, 1-12. Now it'll be family related. Each chapter will be River encountering a member of LJ's 'family.' The last chapter will segue into another 'mini-series' where we see what LJ was doing behind the scenes during River's adventures with the Doctor and Evy before they met him. You might be able to guess what that last chapter is actually.

Quick note. I'm actually going to be setting a schedule for these spin-offs. On the 7th/8th of each month I will post a chapter of The Adventures of...oh, I'm just going to call it TAOSAT from now on. Then, the 14th/15th I will post a chapter of Recollections. The 21st/22nd will be TAOSAT, and the 30th/31st (28th for February) will be Recollections. Just so you know when a new chapter is coming. I'll also post this blurb in my next chapter of Recollections too.

Also...I am officially insane. I am actually considering 2 _more_ spin-offs. I really need to stop writing in other shows lol because everything I do I can always think of a sort of spin-off for it. I'm considering a 'past' spin-off, '(Young) Sherlock' (unless I come up with a witty take on 'Holmes' for 'Home' in relation to children) which would be the childhood of Sherlock and his friendship with Leena, how they grew up and grew closer and all. And I'm considering a 'future' fic for Supernatural, 'An Angelic Army' (based on Dean's comments about Sam and Michelle creating their own 'army'). Which would be the adventures and hunts of their children as they grow up. Just a thought for now.

If I get enough people interested, I might write them up. Oh boy. There goes the little sleep I do get right? lol :) I would try to update those at least once a month without interrupting the DW spin-offs, BUT! Tax season, accounting job, an extra night class (kill me now)...busy, busy, busy till about the end of April, so if I did that, I MIGHT have to change the schedule to something like, TAOSAT on the 7th, Recollections on the 14th, Young Sherlock on the 21st, and An Angelic Army on the 28th or something. MAYBE, that's if work gets to be too much and I actually write out the spin-offs.

Actually, I'll put it up to a vote on my profile...if anyone would be interested in the fics. Should be up sometime today, whether people would want Supernatural or Sherlock or both or neither. Idk for how long it'll be up though. For those who don't have a profile, you can drop a review if you want to.


	15. Aunt Martha

Aunt Martha

LJ stood before the door of a quaint house in London, ringing the doorbell…repeatedly…as River stood beside him, rolling her eyes at his antics…the people inside the house must be ready to kill him by now.

"Will you stop that J?" she hissed at him as he rang it again.

"But Riv...they're taking SO long!" he complained, ringing the bell even more, rapidly.

River reached out and slapped his hand away from the ringer just as the door opened and an irate black woman stood there in a white dressing gown.

"It's five in the morning!" she glared at them, her hair disheveled, clearing having been sleeping.

"Is it?" LJ looked at his watch before grinning sheepishly, "Sorry!"

The woman just narrowed her eyes at him, "What do you want?"

"Just wanted to say hello," he smiled.

"At five in the morning?"

"Yep."

"Why?" she huffed, irritated.

"'Cos we have plans for eight," he nodded at River who rolled her eyes, the rounds of Stormcage were scheduled for eight sharp. If she wasn't back in her cell by then, there would be alarms going off and searches, and she was getting rather tired of them all. They should know by then that she always returned to her cell after she'd finished her adventures.

"And you needed three hours to say hello?" the woman frowned.

"Yep."

"You couldn't have come when you had more time?" she crossed her arms.

"Nope!" he popped the P, "Always waste time when you don't have any," he recited.

"And who told you that?" she frowned.

"My dad."

"And who's your dad? No," she cut herself off, "Better question, who are_ you_?"

LJ beamed, "I'm LJ Smith, nice to see you again Aunt Martha," he reached out and shook her hand.

Martha just blinked and stared at him before shaking her head, "You're not LJ."

He pouted, "Why not?"

She glared, "Because I just helped Evy give _birth_ to him _two days ago_! He's a little screaming baby!"

River smirked, "Still is."

"Oi!" LJ nudged her.

Martha eyed her, "You're River Song right?" she asked, recalling how the woman had been there for LJ's birth.

River blinked, surprised Martha recognized her, this was the first time she was meeting the woman in person. She'd heard _so many_ stories of the fantastic men and women who made up LJ's family, but this was the first time meeting her face-to-face, "How did you know?"

"You were there."

River's eyes widened, "I was?" before she smiled, she'd be there to witness the birth of her best friend.

"Yeah, Evy let you hold him first."

And smiled wider, she'd be one of the first to hold him as a baby…she let out a little laugh at that, "Spoilers," she murmured.

"But seriously though," Martha turned her attention back to LJ, "Who are you really?"

He rolled his eyes, "Aunt Martha it's ME, _I'm_ LJ."

"LJ's a baby."

"Stil…" River began when LJ nudged her in the side again.

"A baby whose parents have access to TIME TRAVEL technology," he reminded her, "I'm him, from the future, and to prove it…" he took her hand and placed it on the center of his chest, letting her feel his two hearts beating.

Martha stared at him, wide eyed, "Oh my God…" she quickly looked at his neck before breathing a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness...no bow-tie."

LJ laughed heartily at that, "No idea why dad thinks they're so great."

"Martha?" a tired voice called as a half-asleep Mickey Smith came down the stairs to his wife's side, "Whazgoinon?"

"Uncle Mickey!" LJ reached out and eagerly shook the man's hand, "How are you?" before pulling him into a manly hug, "I bet you're brilliant."

"What?" Mickey asked slowly, just starting to wake up more at the shaking of his hand jolting him, "Who…"

"The Doctor and Evy's son," Martha answered, still staring at LJ in awe, "Grown up apparently."

It was weird. She knew all about time travel, she'd lived it, but…to see LJ, the little baby she'd helped wrap in a little blue blanket barely the length of her forearm, standing before her, fully grown…it was strange. She couldn't quite wrap her head around that, which was odd in itself given all the incredible things she'd seen and done on her adventures across space and time.

"Hello!" LJ cheered, before turning to River, "Just wanted to introduce River to you, officially, from her point in the timelines," they nodded slowly, just barely keeping up, "River Song, meet my Uncle Mickey and Aunt Martha."

"Nice to finally meet you," River shook their hands, now aware that they'd already met her, a future her. That was weird, to meet someone in such out of place order, but she supposed, with time travel, it was a possibility, "I've heard_ all_ about you."

"Mum and dad told me lots of stories," LJ smirked, making Martha and Mickey exchange a slightly wary look, "LOTS of stories."

Martha shook her head, "They told you both everything, didn't they?"

"Oh yeah," he nodded.

"Yes," River had to add.

"EVERYTHING," LJ laughed, "So…read any good sonnets lately?"

Martha just whacked him on the arm for it, making them laugh before they invited the duo into the house for a rather early breakfast for a Saturday morning.

"Mummy?" a small voice called, Johnny, and they saw both their sons Ricky and Johnny standing there, Ricky rubbing his eyes as Johnny held a small teddy bear hanging from one hand.

"Who was at…" Ricky began before his eyes widened, "Mr. J!" he shouted as he and Johnny ran at LJ and nearly tackled him to the ground as they half-glomped him.

LJ laughed heartily as he hugged the two small boys, the others watching in slight confusion, "How are the young Smith Brothers this fine morning?"

"Fantastic!" Johnny cheered as LJ stood up, both brothers clinging to his neck as he held one in each arm.

"You boys know him?" Martha asked, eyeing her sons.

"Do we!" Ricky laughed.

"Wait a minute…" Mickey's eyes widened, "YOU'RE Mr. J? The substitute science teacher?"

Martha blinked, recalling her boys speaking animatedly about a science teacher who had taken over their class for a day only a week or so ago, "The one who taught them how to suck a whole egg into a bottle?" Martha crossed her arms, eyeing LJ harshly, _all_ her eggs had disappeared after her boys learned that little trick.

Though, Johnny now had aspirations of being the 'most fun science teacher in the history of forever' as a result.

LJ grinned bashfully, looking for all the world as though he wanted to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Guilty," he gave a small chuckle, "Sorry, I wanted to see my cousins," he bounced the boys in his arms, making them laugh, "And I love kids…"

Martha had to smile at that, he certainly was his parents' child, keeping in touch and with a soft spot for children. She shook her head, "Come on you two," she nodded LJ and River towards the kitchen, "Let's get some breakfast in you and catch up."

"We don't got eggs anymore though," Mickey smirked, as Martha whacked him on the arm too before pulling him on to help her.

River could only smile and laugh, walking over to LJ and the boys who were eagerly asking for stories of their escapades, wanting more bedtime stories.

Hours later, after food and stories had been shared, stories which LJ had made Martha and Mickey swear NOT to tell his parents about, much to the amusement of River, the pair left the Smith home to get River back to Stormcage.

"That was nice," River smiled as she linked her arm with LJ, "I like meeting your family."

"They're great aren't they?" he beamed.

"I still can't believe it took you that long to let me meet another one of them," she grumbled. It had been _ages_ since she'd met another aunt or uncle of his.

"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly, "It's tricky getting you out of Stormcage all the time."

She scoffed, "Please," she rolled her eyes, "It's like walls don't even exist for you. I think you're afraid the next one will have embarrassing stories and pictures of you like Jack."

He pouted, "_Still_ can't believe he gave you those."

"We ARE talking about the SAME Captain Jack Harkness aren't we?"

He paused, thinking about that, before nodding, "Ok, I CAN believe he gave you those."

She smirked, "Which is all the better, I needed something to put on my desktop."

He sighed, looking at his watch, "Well come on then, five to eight."

She nodded sadly, she would have loved more time with the Smiths, but she really _did_ have to get back and it was less tricky to travel in time when one stayed relative to a timeline, eight here, eight there.

"Let's go then," she nodded and they walked off.

A/N: Lol, I thought it would be funny (and something I could see LJ doing as the Doctor's son) to wake Martha up at an ungodly hour just to say hi :)

Just some notes on reviews...

I would LOVE to make my stories into EPubs, but I feel like if I did that I'd probably get into a lot of trouble with copyrights and all since they are based on the episodes a little too much :( Still, that would be amazing :)

I was debating putting Leena into my Criminal Minds fic, but since I'm already going to have an OC there, and I'm not entirely sure when I'd have Leena be leaving, I think I might just stick with the one OC :) But you never know, that might change when I finally start writing it up :)


	16. The Godmother: Sarah Jane Smith

The Godmother: Sarah Jane Smith

River smiled as she laid with her eyes closed, basking in the warmth of the sunlight as she laid on her back, her head resting on LJ's stomach. They were in the park, a quaint little one in Ealing, just having a picnic. They'd gotten a typical red and white checkered blanket to stretch out on the grass, a picnic basket stocked with sandwiches and small pies, even a few candies, and were just enjoying themselves. They'd been cloud watching for a while, both of their visions of the clouds getting more ridiculous as time went on, before LJ had pulled a book out of the basket and decided to read. They'd laid down, much like they were now, and he'd read out loud to her, his one arm tucked behind his head, the book in his other. It was actually quite a common position for them, something that had developed during their time in school.

They'd graduated about a year ago, it had been raining in Stormcage nearly the last week straight and she'd been going out of her mind with boredom, till LJ dropped by to secret her away for a few hours spent in the sun and fresh air. She smirked as she thought about how much the guards must be freaking out by then, wondering where she'd gotten to, how she'd gotten out. Let them wonder.

"Clyde over here!" they heard a young woman shout, interrupting LJ's reading.

They looked over to see a tall girl with brown hair waving her arms, hopping up and down as a young black boy threw a Frisbee to her, only for another young man, white, to leap in front of her and snatch it right out of the air.

"Sky!" the boy who had intercepted the Frisbee called, flicking his wrist to send the disc whizzing over to a young girl with lighter brown hair. She caught it, jumping up and down as she cheered at her catch.

They could hear a woman chuckling and LJ started to beam, spotting Sarah Jane Smith sitting on a bench, watching the game unfold before her, playing referee.

LJ sat up, River falling to the side from the sudden move, not having expected that. She grumbled, about to push herself up when she fell back down laughing as a thunk sounded and LJ let out a small yelp.

Sky had thrown the disc back at her brother Luke, only to miscalculate the wind speed and direction, sending the Frisbee flying right at LJ, smacking him in the forehead.

"Ouch!" he pouted, picking up the Frisbee as he stood, reaching out a hand to help River up.

"Oh my gosh!" Sky gasped, running over with the other children, "I'm so sorry mister!"

LJ simply smiled, spinning the Frisbee around on the tip of his finger, "That's alright Sky, won't be the first time you whack me."

He fondly remembered when his mother would take him to visit Sky and Luke and Rani and Clyde as a child. Half the time he popped up looking a year or two older when it had only been months for them. He and Sky had been about the same age once, they'd both been going through a wrestling phase at the time, wrestling anyone for control of anything, dinner picks, remote controls, the front seat of the cars…

She had a hell of a wallop to her, probably did his mother proud.

Sky frowned, taking a step away from him, Luke's eyes narrowing as he moved in front of his sister, "How'd you know her name?"

"How do I know yours Luke?" he countered.

"Who are you?" Rani eyed him, moving closer to Clyde.

"What are you doing here?" Clyde joined in on the questioning, "You've got to be an alien."

River snorted, "Told you, you couldn't fit in to save your life."

LJ just stuck his tongue out at her.

"Is there a problem?" Sarah Jane asked as she made her way over, noticing how the children had started to group together, becoming a bit defensive.

"Yes," LJ nodded, "Yes there is. I am quite offended."

Sarah Jane frowned, "Why?" she glanced at the children "What did you do?"

"They don't recognize me!" LJ pouted again.

Sarah Jane turned back to him, the children frowning as they eyed him, "Oh my God!" she gasped.

"There it is!" he beamed, nudging River, "Told you she'd figure it out first."

And he had, mentally. He'd bet her 10 quid Sarah Jane would guess who he was first. He won.

"But…it can't be!" Sarah Jane shook her head.

"Who is it mum?" Luke and Sky asked at the same time.

"Wait a minute…" Rani worked it out as well, "You're LJ aren't you!?"

"Right in one!" LJ beamed.

"I win!" River cheered.

He turned to her, frowning, "No…I said Sarah would work it out first, and she did."

"But she didn't say it," River smirked, "She started to, but technically, Rani guessed it first. So…I win!"

LJ rolled his eyes but conceded, "Fine, fine, you win. As always," he sighed.

She nodded, "As it should be."

"Wait…YOU'RE LJ?" Clyde looked at the grown man.

"That means you're River!" Sky pointed at the woman. She'd only met her once, when LJ had been born, but the woman had stayed mostly in the background, except when Evy had asked her to hold LJ's baby-self. No wonder they didn't recognize them.

"Hello," River laughed.

Sarah Jane beamed and stepped over, hugging LJ tightly, before doing the same to a slightly startled River, having not expected that, "It's so nice to meet you," Sarah Jane pulled away, "I'm Sarah Jane Smith."

"My Godmother," LJ added, just to remind River.

He had promised to take her to meet his family, so far they'd only gotten to visit Martha. They hadn't exactly planned to run into Sarah Jane and her family there, but it was a nice surprise, and equally nice for the humans as well.

"Time travel right?" Clyde eyed the grown man.

"Right," LJ laughed, he didn't think he'd ever get used to his family staring at him whenever they saw him, trying to work out where they were in the timelines just based on his age. He had to agree with his parents, having River write things down in the diary his mother had given her really was a genius way to keep track of things. Perhaps he should recommend that to his family?

Nah, more interesting this way.

"Where are we?" he asked Sarah Jane, now that he was thinking about it.

"You were born last month," she told him.

He nodded, "Close to Martha then," he remarked, thinking on the trip a few years back when they'd met Martha after she'd JUST helped Evy give birth to him.

"What were you doing?" Luke asked, always curious to know whether time travel had been put in play.

"Just having a picnic," LJ smiled, gesturing back at their spot, "Care to join us?"

"You won't have enough food though," Rani remarked, pointing at the picnic basket, "Trust me, these two," she jerked her thumb at Clyde and Luke, "Can eat a full refrigerator and still be hungry."

"Oi!" Clyde and Luke called.

Sky laughed, "It's true though."

River just smiled, "You DO know who his parents are yeah?" she asked them as they nodded.

Sarah Jane smirked, "Let me guess, the basket is bigger on the inside?"

LJ laughed, "Exactly."

"Specifically designed for this dunce here," River poked him, "You think _they're_ bad," she nodded at Luke and Clyde, "Wait till J starts eating," she leaned forward to whisper to the girls, "I don't think he stops to breathe, just sucks it all in."

They giggled as LJ rolled his eyes mumbling a 'Thanks Riv' under his breath.

"Come on, come on," he tossed the Frisbee to Clyde and tugged River back to the blanket, the two of them moving to one edge to create space for all of them to join in, passing out food and treats to be shared.

Their time had been cut short though, when it started to rain. They'd talked for a good couple hours about what Sarah Jane and her family had been up to, their most recent adventures and battles against the hostile aliens, which had fascinated River who had heard so much about the famed Sarah Jane Smith and realized all the stories truly hadn't done the woman justice. They'd listened to stories of LJ and River and their own adventures, the mischief the Doctor and Evy had gotten into or would get into, they weren't quite certain what with River muttering 'Spoilers' and poking LJ every time he nearly let something slip. They'd even gotten a game of Frisbee in before the rain had started to pour and they'd had to go their separate ways. The humans had insisted it be girls vs. boys as they doubted a Time Lord (and Human plus) pairing could lose against the humans. As it turned out, boys plus Time Lord couldn't beat girls and one Human plus.

LJ insisted they cheated.

A/N: A little on the short side, I know. I sort of wanted this to be more of anunplanned moment that just sort of happened. I promise though that the next chapter will be longer and you can probably guess why.

We had Jack, then Martha, now Sarah Jane...and since River doesn't have to meet her own parents...you know who's coming next, don't you? :)

The next chapter will lead into another mini-series within this series, what LJ was doing behind the scenes. We all know he was there, lurking in the background, while River had her adventures with the Doctor and Evy before they discovered him. We'll start to see what exactly he was getting up to during those adventures. So, for Donna, we'll probably have a mix of River meeting his Auntie Donna along with what LJ was doing while River was in the Library and go from there :)


	17. Auntie Donna and the Library

Auntie Donna and the Library

"So!" River Song smiled as she stood before her best friend in the Universe, LJ 'J' Smith, wearing a stark white spacesuit, her helmet tucked under her arm, "Give it to me."

LJ laughed, looking at a clipboard in his hand, "Suit?"

She laughed too, gesturing at her outfit, "Check."

"Schematics?"

She held up a small scanner/comm., "Check."

"Got that lunch I packed you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Yes dad. Bit of chicken and some salad all packed away."

"Right. Diary?"

"Check," she smiled a bit, tugging up the strap on her bag, letting him know the diary she kept on her person at _all_ times was in there, "You really think they'll come to help? I mean it's just a Library with no power. Hardly interesting."

"You sent them a call, when have they ever_ not_ come?"

"True," she nodded, "What's next?"

"Um..." he looked back at the list, "Sonic blaster?"

"Check," she picked it up off a side table and moved to clip it to her holster.

"Sonic?"

She frowned, "I haven't got a sonic since you burned out my last one trying to make it work on wood," she looked up, not hearing a response, to see him holding out an old sonic, adapted through the years, a light blue light on the end of it. Her eyes widened as she recognized the device, _Evy's_ sonic, the sonic she never _ever_ let out of her sight, the one she'd had, she knew, ever since the Doctor had learned she was a Time Lady _centuries_ ago!

"What..."

"Mum asked me to give it to you," he said, shrugging, "For good luck."

"Why would I need luck?" she asked, shaking her head but taking the sonic, "They'll be there and you'll be waiting for me when this is over," she nudged him, he'd rather irritated Mr. Lux, their sponsor, so badly that the man flat out refused to let him join them on the expedition, "That's all the luck I need."

He gave her a sad smile, before stepping closer and hugging her tightly, startling her a moment, it was...different than his normal hugs, more...final? Desperate? It was like he didn't want to let go. Now that she thought about it, this was the first trip of hers that he _wasn't_ enthusiastic about. He hadn't warned her against it, but he hadn't been thrilled with it either.

It was almost like he was _dreading_ it.

"I love you Riv," he whispered in her ear, closing his eyes tightly as he felt tears within them, "You're my best friend in the entire Universe. I just want you to know that Timegirl."

"J..." she pulled back, only to see him smiling at her, though the sadness in his eyes gave away the break she'd heard in his voice, "Of course I know that Spaceman. What?" she laughed, nudging him, "You think I'm gonna replace you with one of the Daves? Or Evangelista?" she grimaced, "Sorry but no," she laughed, "You've destroyed my ability to handle stupid people."

He laughed at that before just looking at her, "Oh!" he jumped, pulling a small device out of his pocket, "Anita!" he called to one of her teammates as the woman in question packed her own lunch, "Could you?" he held up the image capture device.

"Sure," Anita smiled, stepping back to snap a photo of LJ and River, standing side by side, their arms around each other, grinning widely, before snapping another of them giving each other 'bunny ears.' She knew it was a tradition between the two. She'd been on an excavation or two with Professor Song before, LJ always tagging along, making things interesting.

"Right," River nodded, calling out to the other members of the team, "We ready?"

There was a chorus of 'yeah's and 'yes's followed by Mr. Lux grunting 'about bloody time,' the impatient ponce.

River rolled her eyes and pressed a device on her wrist, opening the door to the shuttle that would take them to the Library, a planet that was literally filled with books with the largest hard drive in the Universe as its core. She turned to LJ once more as her crew filed into the shuttle, "Well," she smiled, "If your parents don't show up, at least I'll know it'll be a QUIET excavation for once," she hugged him, laughing, "That'll be a first."

He nodded as he pulled away, "Good luck Riv," he waved at her as she moved into the shuttle, the door shutting as he let his hand fall, "And that was the last," he breathed, knowing that was the last time he'd see her, hug her, just hear her speaking...at least this version of her. He knew he'd run into a past version of her once or twice but...THIS was his River.

And now she was gone.

~8~

LJ sat on a seat, the soft hum of the ship's engines around him as he waited for River to call him on her comm. once the shuttle had detatched from the ship and touched down on the Library.

'_J?_' he heard over the speakers, though a bit distorted.

He frowned, hopping up and running over, opening the link fully, "Riv? Can you hear me?"

'_Just about,_' she called, '_The comms. went down, too much interference from that signal we picked up._'

He nodded, realizing what she'd done, she'd used the sonic to tap her neural relay into the comm. link, basically projecting her thoughts right to his speakers. It shouldn't have been possible, but, well, River didn't know about the extra surprise in her sonic that had boosted the power of the simple relays.

"Gotcha," he nodded, though she couldn't see him, "You get there alright?"

_'Just fine. We're making our way to one of the rooms, we're picking up three life signs from there._'

He smiled, boy would she be in for a surprise when she came face-to-face with, not just his parents' earlier incarnations, but the ginger travelling with them as well...

And then his mind drifted to what would happen after...

"Good luck," he called softly, swallowing hard, he should have just used the excuse that the comms. wouldn't work and to not even bother trying to contact the ship as it orbited the planet...he didn't want to sit there, listening to it all happen, and not be able to _do_ anything to stop it...but he wouldn't take that comfort of her knowing she wouldn't be alone from her.

No matter how much he hated endings.

"Be careful," he added, "Let me know if you find anything interesting."

~8~

River Song shook her head as she leaned against a desk, watching the Doctor and the woman she now knew to be Evy sonicing the edge of the circle of light they'd set up, scanning the shadows. She glanced at the ginger woman beside her, their latest companion, she guessed, and eyed her a moment, "You travel with them, don't you? The Doctor and Evy, you travel with them."

"What of it?" the ginger demanded, sending her a small glare.

Oh she was a firecracker, _just_ what the Time Lords needed she knew. She also knew where the ginger's mind had gone. Spending so long with LJ had left her a far flirtier person than she ought to have been. Half the time it seemed like she was flirting with others when that was just how she naturally talked to LJ. The woman clearly thought she had been flirting with the Doctor earlier and seemed to be irritated with that.

Probably because Evy had told her who she was to the Doctor. She figured it out that the Perception Filter the girl was wearing had _nothing_ to do with Mars or being cross with the Doctor. LJ had told her about this point in their relationship, _before_ they were Linked, what Evy had done to prevent it from happening. For the ginger to be so defensive, Evy must have told her.

Of course, any friend wouldn't be happy with another woman supposedly flirting with their friend's intended.

She glanced over, watching them shoo Proper Dave to the other end of the circle and couldn't help but shake her head. They were SO different that if she hadn't been expecting them or known what to look for, she probably wouldn't have recognized them as the Doctor and Evy, she almost hadn't when it came to Evy.

"You know them, don't you?" the ginger continued when she didn't answer, "The _both_ of them?"

"Oh, God, do I know them," she laughed, smiling warmly in thought, "We go way back, those two and me."

"Then how come you didn't recognize Evy?" the woman half-glared.

"The Doctor tends to stick to suits and his specs are classic…but Evy," she shook her head, "That girl changes with the times, always different, always throwing me for a loop. Never know what to expect with her."

"So…you know them based on their clothes? Well, how come they don't know you?"

"We don't go this far back," she shrugged.

She was going to KILL LJ for this, not warning her that it was a _previous_ incarnation of his parents that she'd meet, ones who didn't know her. She NEVER would have said half the things she had, let so much slip, if she'd known first. And she KNEW he knew, he knew lots of things that happened from stories from his parents and even his own dual points of view, as a baby and an adult, but he was SO tight-lipped about it all. This wouldn't have been a _bad_ thing for her to know!

"I'm sorry, what?"

"They haven't met me yet. I sent them a message but it went wrong, it arrived too early. This is the Doctor and Evy in the days _before_ they knew me. And they look at me…" she frowned, truly saddened and hurt but the fact, "He looks right through me and she doesn't trust me and it shouldn't kill me, but it does."

"What are you talking about?" the woman cried, exasperated, "Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know them or don't you?!"

"Donna!" the Doctor shouted, "Quiet! I'm working."

And then there was a smack.

"Ow!" the Doctor cried, rubbing his head, "What was _that_ for?"

"You were being rude to Donna!" Evy shot back.

The Doctor glared at her before going back to his work, mumbling about violent women.

River bit her lip, torn between laughing at them, at the look on the Doctor's face, or breathing a sigh of relief at how SOMETHING was still the same when it came to the most infamous duo.

But then she blinked, their words registering, and she turned a wide eyed gaze on the ginger beside her, "Donna? You're Donna? _Donna_ _Noble_?"

"Yeah," Donna nodded, "Why?"

River's mouth dropped open as she stared at the woman, this woman…THIS was LJ's Auntie Donna! In the flesh! The legend herself! The most important woman in the Universe! One third of the Eve of the Doctor Donna! Vaguely psychically connected to Evy! The creator of the Spaceman title! And there she was, standing right in front of her…and she couldn't even _say_ anything because _none_ of them had _any_ idea LJ existed or who she was.

Oh she was going to KILL him!

"I _do_ know the Doctor and Evy," she told Donna, still stunned at this meeting, "But in the future. Their personal future."

Donna's eyes widened as the words registered with her as well, "So why don't you know me? Where am I in the future?"

"Ok, we've got a live one!" the Doctor called, pulling Donna's attention away, preventing River from letting it slip in her shock that, the reason she _didn't_ 'know' Donna, was the fact that her psuedo-nephew had only shown her a few pictures of his family over the MANY years they'd known each other and she hadn't met the woman before now so, of course, she wouldn't recognize her.

River subtly reached up and touched her neural relay…

~8~

'_You stupid bas..._' came River's screech, causing terrible feedback that cut out the rest of her rant.

"Whoa!" LJ had to smile, "Riv, watch the language!"

'_It's them BEFORE they met me!_' she called, grumbling, '_They have NO idea who I am!_'

"I know."

'_Which means I can't even bring_ you_ up because they don't know you either!_'

"Riv, I know."

'_And Donna! Donna Noble! She's here, right now! The lot of us surrounded by Vashta Nerada!_'

"I know," he chuckled, "I did promise you'd meet her."

'_And your parents J...they're not Linked are they?_'

"No," he sighed, "They're not. Remember that story dad told you during our picnic..."

'_Yeah..._' she began slowly and he could practically picture the wheels turning in her mind as she thought on that 'remarkable woman' his father had mentioned that had given him the swift kick he'd needed to gather the courage to start to let Evy in.

"Hasn't happened yet," he added, swallowing hard, both dreading and excited for that moment.

_That_ was truly the start of his parents' relationship, the start of his father accepting his mother into his hearts, and that was a beautiful moment...but it also meant that River's end was coming nearer. His parents had told him all about the Library as a baby after they'd taken River to Calderon Beta, he wouldn't let go of the subject till they told him _every last detail_. He knew River would get through to the Doctor _only_ in her _final_ moments.

And he was _dreading_ that.

He _really_ didn't like endings.

'_J...am _I_ that remarkable woman?_'

He smiled softly, "Spoilers."

'_Hate you._'

"No you don't."

She laughed, before trailing off.

He frowned, "What is it?"

'_Donna..._' River chuckled, '_She's the one who always calls the Doctor Spaceman._'

"Where do you think I got the idea from Timegirl?"

~8~

LJ sat in silence, waiting, just…_waiting_. River hadn't contacted him much after his parents had sent his Auntie Donna away, tried to teleport her into the TARDIS. He understood. He remembered that story. That was when things went crazy, they started getting chased by the swarm of Vasta Nerada in spacesuits, blasting down walls, lots of running, chaos…River needed to focus, she couldn't risk getting distracted and losing her crew…

Not that it would help, he knew.

The only one of her team who would survive was Mr. Lux.

He looked up, hearing the comm. click to life.

'_Autodestruct in three minutes,_' he could hear a computer announce in the distance.

His hearts stopped.

And then River called out softly, '_Why didn't you tell me?_'

He closed his eyes tightly, feeling the tears in them, hearing the tears in her own words, knowing she had worked it out, that he _knew_, all along, what would happen, from the moment they met, from before that really, he knew how it would end, "I'm sorry Riv."

'_J...just _tell_ me why._'

"I didn't want to create the future," he murmured, "I have to be more careful than my parents Riv. I've had to keep _so many things_ a secret for the sake of the timelines. I...I didn't want to admit that I _couldn't _save you from doing this. I didn't want you to know that you were going to die one day."

'_We're all going to die one day J. It would have been nice to know, all those times I faced dangers, that I WOULDN'T die because it wasn't the Library._'

"But you never would have felt as alive as you did when you realized you'd survived. And I know you Riv, knowing you weren't meant to die on a certain adventure would have made you reckless. It might have led to your death earlier."

River was quiet a long while, considering that, the truth in it, she truly _was_ as impulsive as her mother and being around LJ had just made it worse.

'_Autodestruct in two minutes,_' the computer went off again, making him wince.

'_I don't mind J,_' River said quietly.

"That I lied to you?"

'_Dying,_' she corrected, '_I don't mind dying. You know I'd give my life for you or your parents in a heartbeat._'

"Riv..."

'_I'm saving them J. I'm saving them right now, so that they can have you in the future. If they die here, right now, I will never have known YOU. And that is one thing I DO mind. You're my best friend J, my Spaceman, and I love you. I _can_ do this, for you._'

"I don't _want_ you to," he murmured, "I _tried _Riv," he sniffled, "I tried _so hard_ to think of a way to save you..."

'_You DID save me J,_' he could hear the soft smile in her voice, '_Every day of my life since I met you, you've saved me. Now...it's _my_ turn._'

'_Autodestruct in one minute,_' the computer stated.

He nodded, swallowing hard, "All those adventures Riv."

'_All that danger._'

"All the fun we had."

'_I wouldn't trade it for the world,_' River laughed, _'This moment..._this_ will set that future in motion. Because of this, your parents will _live_, they'll _love_, they'll have _you_. And you'll find me. We'll meet again in that future and be the best of friends as we should be. You watch us run Spaceman._'

"You and me always, Timegirl."

'_Autodestruct in ten seconds...nine...eight..._'

_'Goodbye J,_' River breathed softly.

'…_five…four…three…_'

"Bye Riv..."

There was a blip, just a tiny, little_ blip_...and, just like that, River was gone.

~8~

The Library was silent, the last of the humans sent back home, teleported out thanks to the Doctor and Evy and River. Not a human in sight except the Node of a little girl hidden away in the middle of the planet, living an immortal half-life.

So any scans run on the mainframe would be true in that there were no humans left in the Library.

Especially since the only other living being currently wandering through its halls wasn't technically _human_.

A man strolled down the aisles of giant bookshelves, right to a gravity platform that took him straight down to the core of the planet without need of commands, as though expecting him.

And, of course, he _was_ expected...River Song was tucked away in a dream world, basically connected to the main computer, and her mind was _very_ familiar with the sort of man LJ was.

He stepped off the platform, paying to nod at CAL, who smiled knowingly, before he walked right over to a computer, looking at a small…particular…neural relay slotted into it, blinking, and gently ran his finger across it.

He was older than he appeared to be, _centuries_ older. He'd spent his _entire_ _life_ knowing the fate of his best friend. He'd had CENTURIES to think of some way, some impossible stretch that could get around the rules, to save her.

He smirked.

He really truly _did_ hate _endings_.

A/N: Awww... :'( Poor LJ, poor River. SUCH a sad episode once you find out more about who River is and then watch it again and see the difference in the Doctors. I was originally going to only follow LJ, in terms of what he was doing behind the scenes, but this _still_ had to be about Donna and River meeting officially (not counting LJ's birth). I was always curious as to why River was SO stunned to see Donna in this episode, so I sort of explored one theory here, it's because it's Auntie Donna! Lol :)

As for the ending...well, I'll leave that up to you to decide whether LJ figured out a way to save River or not. I mean, his parents saved her mind with the relay...perhaps their son will do them one better? You never know :) I probably won't write _that_ out unless we either A. Get an episode where we see, officially, if anything happened for River after the Library. Or B. When/If the show ends officially (forever) with no resolution to this episode. THEN I'll come back and add a sort of epilogue chapter to this one about it. I just don't want to contradict the show, so we'll have to wait on that :)

On another note...we're going to be starting another sequence :) This will be what LJ was doing 'behind the scenes' during River's adventures with the Doctor, moving in order of the show, so the Weeping Angels will be next :)


	18. How to Earn a Pardon

How to Earn a Pardon

River song was sitting in her cell in Stormcage, absently riffling through her diary. LJ had stolen it, as he always did during their own adventures not with his parents, and hidden a message in it. Sometimes it was a doodle, sometimes a snippet from a poem, other times a simple 'Hiya Riv!' in the margins. It was always somewhere new, somewhere different, said something different…and it both irritated her that he did that and amused her to the point where she smiled when she found it. It was like her own personal treasure hunt in her cell…speaking of…

She looked at her watch, it had been nearly 24 hours now. LJ should be popping in for her next adventure. She was hardly ever in her cell very long, the most being about 3 days once and it had been because LJ had had a cold and hadn't wanted her to get ill. She'd smacked him in the back of the head for that, she was his best friend, it was her job to take care of him when he was sick. Usually she'd only be in Stormcage to sleep and take morning roll, eat breakfast, then LJ would pop round and they'd go on adventures. She was hardly ever bored and, as the Doctor and Evy had once mentioned, River Song could walk in and out of the facility like the walls weren't even there…which they really weren't. Sometimes LJ would pop in with a Vortex Manipulator and they'd be out before she could even stand. Other times he'd wander by, whistling, and flash the door with his sonic, continuing on till she laughed and ran after him, chasing him halfway down the hall to their transport for the evening.

It wasn't always adventures and running though. There were times he'd sit there with her, shocking the guards that he'd gotten in, but then again, the guards didn't know his secret sonic lock-picking powers. There were times they'd just pop out for a movie or a show or an edible dinner or picnic or stargazing. She loved all the times she got to spend with him, quiet times as well as adventurous. She wouldn't trade them for the world.

"Find it yet Riv?" a voice called.

She looked up to see him standing before her cell, his arms crossed and resting on the bar that ran across the doors, his chin on them, head half wedged between the vertical bars, grinning at her.

"In a moment J," she rolled her eyes, flipping through the book. He'd taught her how to read as fast as he could. Well, not AS fast, but still fairly quickly by human standards.

LJ started tapping the toe of his foot on the ground, "Want a hint?" he asked, impatient, something he shared with his father.

River just held up a finger, moving to the very last page of the book, "Ah ha!" she cheered, standing up and reading it, "Fond farewells?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged, "I thought it was fitting, last page, last day in this cell, last…"

"Last day in this cell?" River blinked, staring at him, "J…"

He grinned, "Guess who's managed to get you released early?" he mock bowed, "Please, hold the applause, oh you're too kind…"

River rolled her eyes and walked towards him as he soniced the door open, letting her whack him playfully on the shoulder with her diary, "How?"

"Well…" he dragged it out, "I MAY have negotiated a sort of deal that MIGHT just get you pardoned…"

"J!"

"Alright, alright, no need to shout Riv, blimey!" he rubbed his ear, "Gonna make me go deaf one day."

She rolled her eyes, "Just tell me what I have to do. I will literally do ANYTHING to get out of here."

While she was rarely ever actually THERE, she would like the freedom to walk where she pleased, to come and go somewhere on her own terms as opposed to when LJ or his parents came to retrieve her. She wanted to be out there and really do nothing but travel the stars with LJ like he'd promised the first day they'd met.

"You're gonna have to help some clerics with a mission," he told her, "The Bishop in charge will have custody of you till the mission is accomplished. But once that happens, your part in it gets reviewed and you'll earn the pardon!"

"And what's the mission exactly?"

He eyed her, "How do you feel about taking on a Weeping Angel?"

"The creatures of stone that can kill you if you blink?" she smirked, "I do love a challenge."

"Excellent," he beamed, "Though…" he reached into his pocket and pulled out an old, worn journal, "You MAY want to read up on them," and tossed it to her as he led her out, "Oh, and look what I found," he held up a tube of hallucinogenic lipstick to her.

"Hate you," she mumbled, though she was smiling, it was an ongoing joke between them that she burned through lipsticks faster than normal. LJ had once mentioned that they might get into scores of adventures if she switched to the hallucinogenic ones…he'd been right.

"No you don't," he laughed, putting an arm around her shoulder, "Now come on, we've got a mission and a party to get you ready for."

"A party?" she blinked, THAT had NOT been in the mission description.

~8~

"I really _do_ hate you," River muttered, handing LJ back the hallucinogenic lipstick as she stepped out of a room, a stunned guard within, spinning around in circles.

"Love you too Riv," he rolled his eyes, pocketing the lipstick as there wasn't room in her purse for it. The small welding gun she'd hidden and the scanner/comm. she'd need for the mission were wedged in there.

She refused to have his mother make her a bigger-on-the-inside purse. It had been a pet peeve of hers, women who had more things in their purses than need be. She didn't want to become one so she always took only what she needed, making sure her purse or bag was _just_ big enough to fit the items but small enough to dissuade her from trying to fit more.

"Come on," she turned and led him down the hall, pausing at a door with a key code pad. LJ smirked and flashed the pad with the sonic, a click sounding as the door opened, "What should I write?" she asked him, pulling out her small blowtorch as she moved to stand before the Home Box of the ship.

LJ leaned in the doorway, crossing his arms, shrugging, "What you always write to get their attention."

She smirked, nodding as she put on some dark glasses, lighting up the blowtorch, ready to send her message 'Hello Sweetie!' to the Doctor and Evy. She loved how irritated the man got when she called him that. To her, it was like calling him Gramps, and he really _was_ old enough to be her many-times-great grandfather, despite being her best friend's father.

"Let's give 'em a little treat Riv," LJ called as she looked at him, "Try it in Gallifreyan."

She blinked, a bit startled he'd ask her to do that. She hadn't really written much in Gallifreyan in the past. She tended to keep that to herself. She often didn't know what version of Evy and the Doctor she'd run into, what point in their timelines. She tried to keep that knowledge, who she was, a secret till she got a sense of where they were.

But she shrugged, LJ always had a better idea of the point she'd meet his parents in. If he gave her the go-ahead, she'd write it in Gallifreyan. Given his words it might be at a time before they realized she'd learned the language. That could either mean they knew who she was but not the extent of her lessons, or that they didn't know either of those things. Either way, it would be amusing to see their reactions.

She smiled at her work, stepping away from her message, "That's right, yeah?"

He glanced at it, smiling, "Perfect Old High Gallifreyan Riv, you've improved."

"Well I had an excellent teacher," she shrugged.

"Well…" he smiled.

"Remind me to send your mum a thank you card," she smirked as he pouted. She stepped out the door, pausing to wink at the camera above LJ's head, the man just out of frame beneath it, before handing him a tiny chip she'd stashed in her purse, "Here's the footage of the Angel," she told him, handing it over, "Patch it through to me once I've set up base with the clerics and Octavian."

He nodded, knowing that River was more cautious about him appearing on trips that involved his parents the older she got. She knew that they would be there for this one since she had requested their help to the pardon committee, claiming that the two Time Lords had experience with the Angels before, according to LJ. She seemed to realize that the older she was, the less they knew who she was, the less they knew who HE was. She didn't want to risk jeopardizing the timelines by having him go with her, even with a high level Perception Filter, they'd still sense him, even more because he was their son.

So she always wanted to go alone first, see where his parents were, and then call him down, unless he KNEW for certain it was an adventure where they knew him or didn't. But he was always tight lipped about that.

"Got it," he nodded, stepping back to gesture her down the hall, "Riv," he called as she moved to leave, "I'll be waiting in the prison ship when this is over."

She nodded, "I'll see you there J."

And with that, she walked off down the hall. He tossed the chip in his hand before turning and ambling off, whistling as he went, knowing he should probably get off the ship before it crashed into the side of an Aplan Mortarium.

~8~

"J!" River's voice came over the comm. as he sat in the prison ship, waiting. He'd been given access to the conference room where the hearings of the potential pardons were done, a long wooden table with five chairs on one side, one on the other, a bank of computers to the side with a door to the other end.

There was a comm. on the table, a comm./scanner that was connected to River's.

"Riv," he nodded, though she couldn't see, leaning casually back in the chair, his feet propped up, arms behind his head, bored. Waiting. It was always so boring when time moved slowly and in the right order, his dad was right about that.

"You're ok!" she breathed, sounding relieved.

"Course I am," he smirked, "I'm the Prince of Ok."

"Funny J," River deadpanned, "I wasn't sure if you got off the ship in time."

He nodded, "You know me, I'm always a step ahead."

"Irritatingly so," she grumbled.

He looked over at the monitors of the computers, seeing surveillance had been set up, one monitor showing very close satellite footage of the beach of the crash, just barely able to see River standing outside the TARDIS having just stepped out of it, the burning crash behind her, while the second monitor showed the clerics and Octavian being prepared for teleport.

"How're things so far?" he asked, grinning.

"Still before they met me J," she said and he could tell it was through clenched teeth.

He never told her exactly what point in his parents' timelines they'd be meeting. Well, not always. Times when he went with her, she knew that it meant his parents knew them both. But there _were_ times she went, and his parents knew HER but not HIM. Or she'd go and he wouldn't and she'd THINK they didn't know but they would and he'd pop in later or not at all.

"Thanks for the warning," she had to add, looking up at the wreck, "Is the footage ready?"

He kicked his feet off the desk and moved to the computers, sitting down in the rolling chair before it, "All good to go, you just need to set up base first."

She nodded, cutting off the comm. when she heard the TARDIS door open. He watched, sans audio, as his parents and Amy walked over to River and spoke with her a moment. He could see River's smirk from there on her painted red lips as she walked a few feet away, holding up her scanner/comm..

"J," she called, "I'm gonna have them sonic the signal stronger, can you catch it?"

"Sure thing Riv," he replied, typing as he saw River turn and hold up the scanner, his father flash the sonic at her, before she curtseyed, "Gotcha!" he cheered, hitting a button and a moment later, Octavian and his clerics appeared on the sand in swirls.

~8~

"J," River came over the comm., the footage that had been displaying the clerics preparing now showing River in one of their transport units, setting up computers and a monitor to display the footage, "I need that footage…"

"What's left of it," he remarked, plugging in the chip and typing away, "What did you _do_ Riv? Literally rip the film out or something?"

"Or something," she laughed before frowning, "Four seconds J?"

"Honestly, you're lucky you got those four," he told her, "You wouldn't _believe_ what I had to do to just recover THAT! I had to use quantum enfolding and a paperclip!"

"Learned that from your parents didn't you?"

"Really Riv, next time you'd be better off ripping the camera off the wall and taking that."

"Oh hush," she muttered, moving around to a small bank of four monitors, frowning as she tried to get them online and connected, "Need a sonic…" she sighed.

"Try mum," he shrugged, leaning back, "She's got a better record of not turning things into bombs when using a sonic."

River laughed but nodded, heading over to the door to call Evy in for help.

~8~

River looked down as she stood in the hall just outside the door to the ship. The Doctor had shot out the gravity globe and given them an updraft to the bottom of the ship, now they just had to break in through the sealed doors to escape the Angels outside.

She was looking more at her scanner/comm. seeing a message pop up:

_What did he say?_

It was from LJ, she knew, only he had a scanner linked to hers. He'd been watching, having inherited his mother's love of hacking, and cut into the video footage of the _Byzantium_, watching them as they moved. He must have seen Octavian pull her to the side as the Doctor and Evy worked on opening the doors, to speak to her.

_Nothing_, she typed back.

_Riv_.

She sighed, _He just threatened to tell your parents who I am._

…_would that be bad?_

She smiled, she knew it hurt him just as much as her for his parents not to know who she was. He understood more about them not knowing him, he wasn't allowed to be there till they did know who he was. But _she_ was forced to encounter them _before _they knew her. It hurt. And since it hurt her, it hurt him too.

_He might have threatened to tell your mum about Hitler J._

She wasn't entirely sure. For all she knew he could have been threatening to tell them about what would happen in Utah. But...it had only been the Doctor, not Evy and he'd made a big fuss about EVY not knowing. In that case, it had to be Berlin, didn't it?

_Oh._

That was a mess and a half. Her first 'adventure' with the Time Lords, the one that happened just before she met LJ, the son of the Time Lords she'd just tried to kill.

They both knew that if Evy or the Doctor found out about what happened then they would refuse to ever speak to or help her again. They wouldn't understand until it actually happened. Octavian had threatened to tell _Evy_ who she was and what she had done. She had poisoned the Doctor, and, as a result, nearly killed as well, nearly killed their unborn child in the process. Evy had come far too close to a miscarriage because of her actions. If EVY found out what she'd done, even Evy would walk away, and the Doctor would follow. The Doctor was already cautious of her, of her knowledge of the future, but Evy was the one who talked him into staying and helping for the most part. She knew she'd grow on both Time Lords eventually but right now, so early in their timelines, that knowledge of what she'd done in Berlin could destroy the future.

_Kick him for me._

River smirked at LJ's reply, he was certainly Evy's son.

~8~

"Riv?" he called into the comm. as he watched River walking through the woods, ahead of the Doctor and Octavian who were following her. Something had happened, AMY was going with them, but his MUM was staying behind. He had a fairly good idea what it was, but he needed to make sure, "Riv what happened?"

He saw River glance back, making sure the Doctor and Octavian were far enough away to speak quickly to him, "The Angel is in Evy's head now. She pulled it out of mum's."

LJ's eyes widened and he stood quickly, lifting the comm. to his mouth, "Riv, whatever you do, get Amy away from dad."

"What?"

"Riv, do it!" he insisted, "Trust me. You remember what happened that one time mum pushed you out of the way of that…"

"Yes," she cut in, he could hear her swallow hard.

"Riv…if you still want a mum, you _need_ to keep Amy as _far_ away from dad as possible."

River was silent a moment, "He'll be_ that_ bad?"

LJ winced, his father had been _awful_ to River when that had happened to his mum, "Not quite THAT bad because he knows where mum is and what's happening but…he's never been in this position before. It…" he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "It won't last long, I promise, but…keep them apart."

He saw River nod before the comm. cut out, River calling something as Amy stepped into the picture moments later.

He hoped River could keep the two apart. His dad could be…well…he tended to lash out terribly when he or his mum were in danger…and right now…Amy would be a target.

~8~

LJ stood before the teleport pods in another part of the ship, watching, waiting as the machines beeped. A swirl of sand appeared before him and River appeared within that, her hands handcuffed in futuristic cuffs. He rolled his eyes and flashed them, unlocking them as he took the cuffs off her and tossed them to a nearby guard, rubbing her wrists in his hands.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"I didn't get murdered by a Weeping Angel, my mum's alive, your parents are fine, and I might just get a pardon," she shrugged, thinking about the few men who had been lost, "All in all…I'm fine."

He smiled, "Actually…_about_ your pardon…"

She stared at him, "_Don't_ tell me I just faced down an army of Weeping Angels for the pardon to be revoked!"

"No, no, no, no, no," he shook his head, "They actually started to review your request _while_ you were down there."

She frowned, "Really?"

Typically they waited till _after_ the mission was completed.

"Well, a little birdie might have made the argument that, if you died down there, you should die free…"

She whacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow!" he pouted, rubbing his head, "What was THAT for!?"

"I'm glad to see you have so much faith in me that you thought I was going to DIE J!" she glared.

He rolled his eyes, "Riv, when have I _ever _doubted your ability to survive?"

She narrowed her eyes even more, "Explain."

"I _knew _you'd survive," she shrugged, "You're Timegirl after all, not even an army of Weeping Angels could take you out."

"So…"

"So…I convinced them that, IF you died, you should be free," he sighed, "Riv…I wanted you to be free the _second_ you got back."

She blinked and smiled, "You clever, sneaky boy."

He beamed, winking, "That's me."

"I'm free?" she asked, just needing to make sure, "I've been pardoned?"

He nodded, "100 percent free."

She laughed, leaping into his arms to hug him tightly, "Oh I can't believe it!"

He smiled as he pulled away, "Funny thing about the pardon though…"

"What?" she eyed him.

"When they were reviewing, turns out…um…the person you killed…never existed in the first place."

She frowned, "_What_?"

_That_ was _ridiculous_. She'd JUST come from an adventure with the man.

"Yup," he nodded slowly, "Seems there's no record of the Doctor anywhere," he looked at her meaningfully, "It's like he deleted himself from every record."

She let out a huff of air, "And he couldn't have done that_ right_ _after_ I was jailed?" she crossed her arms, pouting.

He laughed, "Oh come on Riv, lighten up, we had a lot of fun sneaking you in and breaking you out of Stormcage didn't we?"

"I suppose," she sighed, smiling.

"And…" he nudged her, "Now that you're pardoned, there's nothing stopping you from becoming a professor now. You can't have a criminal record if there was no crime."

She laughed, excited. She'd been toying with the idea of becoming a professor for a while but, given her incarceration, she doubted she'd be accepted even after she was released, though, the Doctor HAD introduced her as Professor Song to Amy…

She shook her head, leaving it in the past, "What should we do now?"

He grinned, "Celebrate."

She beamed, taking his hand to pull him off, "Well come on then Spaceman! Let's go tell mum the good news."

A/N: Lol, LJ you are your parents' son aren't you? :)

Next chapter we get the Pandorica and the Big Bang :)


	19. Cab for River Song

Cab for River Song

River smirked as she stepped out of her cell, looking back at the guard currently aiming his gun at the stick figure she'd drawn on the wall of her cell. She sighed, LJ was right, the hallucinogenic lipstick worked wonders. And speaking of her wayward friend…she dashed to the phone on the wall and, _just_ as she grabbed it, a voice called out.

"Took you long enough Riv," LJ's distinctive voice spoke behind her. She turned to see him staring down at the watch on his wrist. He whistled, "You're getting rusty," he glanced over his shoulder to the guard, "And less creative," he smirked at her, "I like it better when I can't guess what he's seeing."

She rolled her eyes and walked over to him, "You just like it because it gives you a sense of what other people feel when they encounter you, no idea what to make of you."

He nodded, laughing, "Touché."

"Are you here about..."

"Winston Churchill calling you, yup!" he grinned, before pouting, "Though I must say Riv, he's a bit old for you."

"Says the 200 year old child standing before me," she rolled her eyes, "How did you even know about that?"

He smirked, "Who do you think switched the phone lines?" he laughed as she shook her head, "Come on Riv," he nodded his head to the side, "They'll be setting off the alarms as soon as you set foot out of the facility and we've got a lot to do."

"Like what?" she asked, following him out.

"Well, you have to get that painting right?" he listed, "We also have to get you transport..."

"That's why I was going to call you," she poked him in the side, laughing as he squirmed.

"I'm not a taxi service," he poked her back on the cheek as she swatted his hands away.

"You're as good as and you know it," she pointed out, "You're always picking me up and kidnapping me and taking me places."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he waved her off before sighing, "You'll want my parents to see this one and..."

"And let me guess, they still don't know who you are?" she sighed, "Or me either probably."

"Yup. So, we need to get you transport since I can't exactly take you to them."

She huffed, "Fine, where are we getting this 'transport' from?"

"Oh Riv," he shook his head fondly at her, "You never pay attention. I said _first _we have to get that painting, I _can _take you there."

She smiled, linking her arm with him as they pushed through the doors of the facility, the alarms starting to blare as they shut.

~8~

River, now decked out in a black 'Evy outfit' as she dubbed it, quietly made her way through the Royal Collection, rolling up the painting she'd snatched in the process. She had to hurry before LJ got impatient and came looking for her, honestly that boy worried more about her than himself most of the time. She'd just made it up the stairs when the lights turned on and Queen Elizabeth X sat before her, a gun aimed at her, "This is the Royal Collection and I'm the bloody Queen," Liz 10 said, "What are you doing here?"

"It's about the Doctor and Evy, Ma'am," she held up her hands, the painting still in her grasp, though thankful LJ had mentioned Liz had met the two as he babbled about the Royal Collection on the way over, "You met them once, didn't you? I know they came here."

Liz lowered her gun, "The Doctor and Evy?"

"They're in trouble. I need to find them."

"Then why are you stealing a painting?"

"Look at it…" she handed it over, "I need to find the Doctor and Evy, and I need to show them this."

Liz looked down at the painting and then over at River in astonishment.

"Yeah," LJ nodded, startling Liz as she gasped and dropped the painting, turning around to aim her small gun at him, "Chilling isn't it?" he nodded at the painting of the exploding TARDIS, not at all perturbed by the gun in his face.

"Nice J," River rolled her eyes as she bent down to pick up the painting, rolling it up again.

"Who are you?" Liz 10 asked, eyeing them intently, unsure of whether they were an enemy or friend of the Doctor and Evy.

"Rive..."

"Jingle Mist," LJ cut in with a wide grin. Ever since he'd given her those ridiculous substitutions for her name when they'd met, he'd gone about trying to use them wherever they went, "And Mr. Smith," he bowed to the queen, before popping up, "Hey that nearly rhymed!"

River just shook her head at him, "River Song," she corrected.

"_River Song_?" Liz looked at her, her eyes narrowing, "Aren't you the woman who killed..."

"And LJ Smith..." River cut in as she glanced at LJ, who just nodded, knowing Liz would need the next bit of information to trust her, "The Doctor and Evy...that's their son all grown up," she smiled, "He's my best friend."

Liz gasped as she looked at him, able to see it now, he looked _just_ like the Doctor, the few versions she'd heard about, but had little qualities of Evy as well, her eyes, her nose, "Oh my God..."

LJ just held out a hand, shaking the stunned woman's hand, "You can call me the Captain though."

"The Captain?" Liz breathed, eyeing him up and down.

"After my uncle," he laughed, "I believe your ancestor knew him quite well."

Liz started to smile, "Captain Jack?"

"Oh yes," he nodded, beaming.

"J," River cut in, "We have to go."

He nodded, "Lovely to meet you Lizzie," he winked at her, "See you later."

"Bye," Liz waved, still staring at them in awe as they left.

~8~

River smiled as she made her way back to LJ as he leaned against a bar in the Maldovarium, her meeting with Dorium successful, thanks to the micro-explosives LJ had gifted her with, the boy just as fond of blowing things up as his father's 9th self had been. Now she was the proud owner of a Vortex Manipulator. She could understand why the Doctor kept going through sonics, when you used them so much they tended to break easily and she used more than her fair share of a VM in the past and probably would in the future.

"So," she began, leaning against the bar beside him, "Anything in particular I should know about this little adventure?"

LJ smiled, she always did that, try to get little details of the future out of him, even if he hadn't been there as a baby, his parents...the Doctor...loved telling him stories about their past adventures. The Doctor was the bigger perpetrator of this, Evy had preferred actual bedtime stories. Though he supposed it was good that he had the dual perspectives he did, at times, he knew what he could tell her because he'd seen himself tell her when he'd been a baby. Though, most of the time, he was far more tightlipped about things to come.

He did, though, try to give her things she would need, slip something into her bag that probably wouldn't have been there but he put it there solely to help her, knowing she'd need it. Or try and be vague about something so that, when the time came, and her brilliant mind was racing, she'd know what to do. He liked that, that he could help her in little ways.

"Well…" he began, thoughtful, "You'll be needing some more lipstick," he laughed, nudging her as she grumbled, just imagining how many people she'd have to kiss in order to need MORE of it, "Fry particles will get you every time. Jumper cables can be a lifesaver. And…diaries make lovely presents don't they?"

She blinked and stared at him, she supposed she'd asked for that. No matter how she tried he always gave her the vaguest hints of the future. Where would she encounter fry particles? Why would she need jumper cables? And what did he mean by her diary? Was she supposed to give it away? Did someone try to give her a new one? Was this when she gave the Doctor and Evy their own diary?

"Thanks," she rolled her eyes.

He just grinned, "You're welcome," he laughed, before holding out a hand to her.

She sighed with a smile and slapped her hand onto his, LJ pushing off the bar to lead her through the crowd, "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Time to get mum and dad's attention!" he cheered.

"And how are we going to do that?"

He smiled back at her, "What would you say to graffiting the oldest cliff face in the Universe?"

She just laughed heartily at that, "I'd say…hello sweetie!" she cheered as she moved past him, pulling HIM out this time.

Leave it to LJ to want to do something like that, he was SO the Doctor's son.

~8~

River paused, eyeing the Roman encampment she and LJ were overlooking, "You're SURE this is the right time and place?"

LJ rolled his eyes, "Yes, for the hundredth time Riv, I'm nowhere NEAR as bad as dad, you know that."

River snorted and patted his shoulder, "You keep telling yourself that J, one day maybe even YOU'LL believe it."

He pouted, but pulled out the rolled up painting, opening it to show her the small inscription written onto the exploding TARDIS's door, "102A.D., Earth, Britain. See?"

"So…I take it THAT'S why I need more lipstick," she eyed the soldiers milling about.

He grinned, "I _did_ say you'd probably end up burning through those tubes, but _someone_ didn't believe me."

River rolled her eyes, "What story should I give them? Hmm?" she looked at him, "Who do you want to be? Antony and Cleopatra?" she paused, seeing the slight frown on his face, "Oh alright, Caesar and Cleopatra?" but the frown remained, "Fine, whoever you want to be, but I'M going to be Cleo."

He sighed, "It's not that Riv," he rubbed the back of his neck, "It's just…"

She nodded sadly, figuring it out, "This is where you leave me, isn't it? Because your parents will be here soon?"

"Only a matter of time before they decide to go to Planet One," he nodded, "And you need to get to work kissing your way through an army. No offense Riv," he grimaced, "But I REALLY don't want to see that."

She just elbowed him in the side, "Well, best get on with this," she sighed, moving to head down to the encampment, "Thanks for the lift!" she called back to him, knowing she'd be alright, she could handle the army and LJ wouldn't have left her alone if his parents weren't truly on their way.

And she knew, he'd be watching over her, making sure she really would be safe till the Doctor and Evy got there.

She smiled, he was always watching over her.

~8~

"Fry particles," River called into her scanner/comm. as she rode her horse back towards the Roman encampment from Stonehenge. Of course, those particles WOULD get them every time, they were nearly undetectable and excellent at broadcasting. She'd been lucky she'd set her scanner to include them when they'd gotten to Stonehenge, lucky that LJ had mentioned them otherwise she might not have picked them up.

"Told you!" LJ's voice came back to her, a sing-song quality to it.

She rolled her eyes, "So, any particular way I should deal with the Romans?" she asked when she paused at the edge of the camp to see that the general in charge had returned.

LJ laughed, "Just be your charming self."

"So pull a gun on him then?"

"Correctamundo!" he cheered.

She sighed and shook her head, but smiled, it always made her smile when he used ridiculous words like that, "Right then, best get down there. I'll contact you later."

"Gotcha," he replied, "Oh, and Riv!" he called.

"What?" she asked.

"Say hello to your dad for me."

River blinked as he cut the connection. She knew where her parents were in this timeline, her father had been eaten by a crack in time, never been born, her mother didn't remember him. She knew it would all work out in the end, she was proof, her existence was proof, but still…this was about to get _very_ interesting.

Her father was about to meet her for the very first time.

Oh she couldn't WAIT to see what she'd be able to get away with saying while he didn't know who she was.

Perhaps she ought to bring up that Nestene Duplicate she'd dated…hmm…

~8~

River glared at the jumper cables before her as though they were mocking her. She was currently trapped in the TARDIS, something else controlling the old box, which was about to explode, and it seemed her only option was to try and use the cables to short-circuit the controls to open the door.

She really needed to _kill_ LJ for not warning her about THIS when she got out of there…

~8~

LJ sat, listening to River over the comm.. She'd left it on, the entire time, he'd heard everyone talking, his mum, his dad, Amy, River, everyone. He'd heard everything…including River bringing up that stupid Nestene Duplicate she'd dated. The jerk!

He knew she'd be trapped in the TARDIS as it was exploding, but that the protocols would protect her. He'd hoped that if she used the jumper cables early enough she'd be able to get out, but it seemed like that had failed. The protocols also kept him from getting inside to save her. He knew she wouldn't be aware of it, the loop she'd be stuck in and…to be honest…he really couldn't bear to hear her getting caught in it repeatedly. So…he'd taken a leaf out of his father's book, and jumped to the future.

Unfortunately not far enough it seemed, as he fell to his knees, his hand on the center of his chest, feeling a sting that he knew meant his parents had just been shot at by the Dalek. Time Lord children, sharing a connection to their parents, not one as strong as a Link though, could tell when their parents were hurt. It was just a natural relationship that a parent shared with their child, both could tell when the other was hurt. That was really as far as that went, they couldn't read the other's emotions, but they could tell when the other needed them.

His mother had once explained it as a parent's instinct to know when something was wrong that was just echoed in the child itself. It did hurt though, to feel them in pain. But…he also knew what was coming next…

In only a few short minutes…he wouldn't exist anymore.

Because his parents would willingly step into a crack and seal them shut across the Universe, ceasing to have been born.

He closed his eyes as he listened to the conversation, to River speaking with Amy, to his parents explaining to Amy what would happen, and to River as she got a note from the Doctor and Evy, 'Geronimo!'

He sighed when, moments later, he could feel the world around him lighten, a white light pulling him out of existence with his parents.

One last thought made it through their mental bond, '_Goodbye Riv._'

~8~

'_Goodbye Riv…_'

River Song shot up in bed as the words echoed through her mind. No! No, no, no, no, no...LJ!

She still remembered him! Thank God she was part Time Lord, it seemed THAT aspect of her heritage had protected her mind, being a time traveler would have certainly helped her remember him, but being Time Lord ensured it!

She quickly jumped out of her bed, grabbing her TARDIS diary and flipping through it, only for her eyes to widen seeing that it was blank. All her adventures with LJ had disappeared as he had never been born.

No!

No, she wouldn't stand for this. She just…she had to get him back, get his parents back…wait…

She looked down at herself, she'd always wondered why she hadn't faded away when her father hadn't been born…LJ had remarked because her mother still existed and eventually her father came back. Her mother had brought him back!

And if she could bring Rory back, she MUST be able to bring others back too. But how to get her to remember the Time Lords?

She tapped her diary against her chin, thinking…when her eyes drifted down at it and she grinned.

Diaries made excellent presents, LJ had said.

She had a wedding to get to and a gift to give the lucky couple!

~8~

"Knew you'd do it Riv," LJ smiled as River appeared before him in a flash of energy, her hand still on her Vortex Manipulator as she held her now written in diary even as he pulled her into a tight hug.

She laughed, hugging him tightly in return, "Of course you did. Let me guess, your parents told you the story and…"

"No," he shook his head as he pulled away, "Even though they did, that_ wasn't_ how I knew."

"Then how?" she asked.

"Because YOU are JUST like your mother," he told her, "Completely unpredictable, contradictory, bloody minded, and…you _never_ ever give up Riv, not _ever_."

"Because you never _let_ me J," she reminded him, a soft smile on her face, "You're always pushing me to try one more time whenever I want to."

"You're my best friend Riv, it's my job to push you to do your best."

"Like it's my job to smack you when you're being an idiot."

He laughed, linking their arms and leading her off.

He couldn't wait for the day when his mother would finally get to properly bond with River, she was SO much like the woman too that it was scary. But, then again, he was rather like his father. Perhaps that was why their friendship was so strong, Spaceman and Timegirl, the unbreakable duo.

A/N: Lol, LJ you are_ just_ like the Doctor, taxi service :) I always found it odd that River made it out of Stormcage and to the Royal Collection BEFORE she got the VM, how'd she get there? Well, LJ took her :)

But ooh...we all know what's coming next don't we? The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon...hmmm :)


	20. The Astronaut

The Astronaut

"Please tell me you aren't JUST getting to that page Riv," a voice called out.

River looked up from her book to see LJ standing there, leaning on the bars of her cell in Stormcage, grinning at her with a gleam in his eye that she knew promised an adventure to come.

"Some of us enjoy actually_ reading_ through a book J," she remarked, getting up to move over to the bars, leaning against them, mirroring his stance, her arms resting against the bars, though she stood much closer to it as he was a bit taller than her. Their faces were close, nearly nose-to-nose.

"But it's so _boring_," he pouted.

She wiggled her nose against his, loving how they could be this way, flirty but completely platonic at the same time, "Lose the frowny face J, I'm not your mum, I'm not about to kiss it off you."

"Figures," he huffed playfully, blowing a bit of his hair that had fallen over his eyes away, "The ONE person you WON'T kiss..."

She smirked, poking him in the stomach, making him squirm away, silently thanking Evy for telling her about LJ's secret tickle spot. Oh seeing those two with the baby version of LJ, blowing raspberries in his stomach was an adorable sight and seeing her best friend as a baby laughing, well, squealing, because of it was hysterical, especially when older LJ was standing there, looking highly unamused.

She laughed as he stepped back, his hands still on the bars as he half-hung back on them, "I feel _so _loved."

She shook her head at him, "To what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked.

"What, I can't come pop in to see my best friend?"

She crossed her arms, "Yes...but when YOU pop in, it's to whisk me away on an adventure. And about time too, I was going mad."

He laughed, "Riv it's only been 3 days..."

"3 _endless_ days of just sitting here with the terrible prison food," she reached through the bars and poked him again, "If I get ill, I'm blaming you."

He rolled his eyes, "Fine, fine, if you get ill, I'll hold your hair back," before he smirked, "Well, I'd _have_ to, that thing looks like a walnut exploded or something and..." she poked him once more, "Quit it!" he whined.

"J!"

He sighed, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out, tossing it onto her bed.

River turned to see a TARDIS blue envelope lying there. She grinned and ran over to her bed, scooping it up and turning it around, only to see a number 2 written on it. She tore it open and pulled out a card, staring at the words written on it...

22/04/2011

16:30 MDT

378-08-388* N, 1108-148-348* W

She raised an eyebrow at LJ, "You read it," he defended.

She rolled her eyes, "Right then, April the 22nd at..." she looked at her watch...before shaking her head, it wouldn't be any help to look at her watch right now given that time travel would clearly be involved, "But what's this?" she held the card up, pointing at the longitude and latitude.

LJ grinned, "Ever been to Utah, Riv?"

She blinked, "Utah? As in, America?"

"No, as in Raxacoricofallapatorious."

She whacked him on the arm with the card, "Just let me pack my bag."

"I'll help," LJ grinned, lifting his sonic to flash the cell doors...only for an alarm to start blaring.

"Oh," River smirked, "_Probably_ should have warned, they've decided to deadlock the doors."

He scoffed, putting his sonic away though, "As though_ that_ would help keep you from getting out."

"I know," she laughed, "It's so sad to see them trying so hard."

He looked over, spotting a guard rushing over, "Oi!" the man cried, "What are you doing?!" he demanded.

"Packing," River called, nonchalant, "I'm going to America."

The guard just stared at her a moment before running off to a phone on the wall to call for backup.

LJ just sighed, the two of them exchanging a look at the poor human, before he pulled out a bit of paper from his pocket, holding it up to the other guards that ran over, "No problems here," he told them, flashing them the blank paper, "Parole officer," he put the paper away, "I need Miss Song for a mission in America, and can we do something about that buzzing?" he asked.

A guard ran off to shut them down as River and LJ exchanged a smirk.

~8~

River and LJ stood at the monitor of their transport, looking down as they watched Amy and Rory stepping out of a bus, looking around, but not seeing the Doctor behind them.

"J..." River frowned, "Where's Evy?"

"You remember Riv," LJ sighed, "You know what dad did."

She blinked, frowning, something at the edge of her mind.

LJ looked over at her, seeing her struggling, knowing WHY she was struggling to remember. Normally, he wouldn't do this, normally he'd say she shouldn't know. But...she DID know, it _was_ there, in the back of her mind, it was just the Silence that kept her from remembering it fully.

He reached out and gently took her hand, turning her to face him, lifting his hands to her temples, closing his eyes as he focused, finding her memories and pulling them to the surface, shaking off the haze that had surrounded them.

River gasped, her eyes flying open, "Tell me this isn't..."

He nodded, solemn, "I'm sorry Riv."

She let out a breath, blinking away her tears, swallowing hard, "And you can't be there till the end, can you?"

"No," he nodded, "Sorry."

She nodded, "Right then, best get out there..." she turned to head to the doors, when LJ grabbed her hand again.

"Riv," he whispered, "Be careful," he squeezed it, "If the Silence realize you know..."

"I know," she nodded, patting his cheek, "There's more at stake than just_ me_ if they do," she agreed, before winking, "Good thing I'm just that good."

He laughed, beaming as he nodded, slapping her bum as she headed for the doors, before he turned to the monitor to watch...

~8~

LJ had to snigger as River shot the Stetson off his 'father's' head.

~8~

It was hard, harder than he thought it would be, to stand there and watch as River sat with his father...well...his father's Ganger, having to watch the man flinching every time his mother was brought up. He knew that the Ganger loved his mum as much as his original father did, he knew how much given what the man would come to do for them. He'd tapped into the security monitors of the diner they'd gone to, watching them.

He knew what happened, he'd seen it through his parents' memories, but to actually SEE it happening, to see the flinching and the absolute sorrow in the Ganger's face, in his father's face...he couldn't even_ begin_ to imagine how bad it had been for the_ real_ Doctor. The Ganger, he'd only been out there, without his mother for a few years before he ran into them, his father had been without his mother nearly 200 years. And if the Ganger was THAT bad from just a few years...

His dad must have been a wreck.

And...it was so weird to see any version of his father without his mother there. But he knew, they were lingering in the background, just like he was, watching.

It was even harder to sit there, having left the transport hovering, watching them have a picnic later, knowing what was coming. Knowing what...who...was waiting at the bottom of the lake and what would happen, what River would be forced to do, what River would be forced to watch happen.

It was odd, his parents usually met River so out of order but him...he _always_ knew which River to meet, when, where she was in the timelines, because HE was usually the one to get her there. And she was just...River to him. For instance, he'd JUST come from the University, seeing River miss their meeting to celebrate and knew where she'd been taken. So he'd gone right to the River he needed in Stormcage. She probably didn't even realize it was a younger him, he often looked exactly the same, but he could flirt with any version of her, joke with her, because it was just...River.

He knew that the younger River would need him more, knew that his older selves would recall HE had taken care of this little incident and stay away, especially because he also knew what was coming when he'd been a baby.

He winced, hearing shots go off, closing his eyes, not wanting to watch his father get shot...when a white light filled the room...

~8~

He shook his head, shook his whole body really, as the white light faded and he found himself back in the ship not a second later but feeling like it had been ages gone past. Well, that was something, not often you get sucked into an alternate reality where your best friend was about to shoot your father while your mother was about to give birth to you...

Well, he hoped THAT never happened again.

He really _didn't_ want to think about his mother giving birth to him, he shivered at the thought, grimacing.

Though he _did_ smile when he realized one of his earliest actual memories was being in his mother's arms, his father smiling down at him, surrounded by his family, before River got to hold him.

And...speaking of...he ran back to the monitor, his smile fading as he watched River, Amy, and Rory breaking down over the fallen 'Doctor,' the 'astronaut' heading back into the lake.

"Oh Riv," he breathed, reaching out to gently touch the monitor, just over River's face as she tried to 'shoot' the 'astronaut' as it left.

'_I'm sorry,_' he whispered in her mind.

'_It's alright,_' she replied back, '_I know who that is, I know that the Doctor, the _real _Doctor is safe, I know that Evy's safe, and that you're safe. That's all I need to know._'

'_Still...I wish I could be there._'

'_You WERE there,_' she reminded him.

He smiled and nodded, '_And I'll be here in the end as well. But...right now..._'

'_You need to get t the other me,_' she cut in, '_I know J, I remember. Go._'

He frowned, he knew what would happen during this adventure, he knew that River would end up travelling with Amy and Rory back to the diner, to find the Doctor and Evy back, heading out to meet Canton, before getting chased by the Silence, and…

He wouldn't be there.

For once, he wouldn't be there to get her to New York, where she'd dive off a building, into the TARDIS pool. He wouldn't be there when Amy was taken. And he wouldn't be there when they faced down the Silence...

Because _she_ could handle it, the older River could.

But the younger River, the one who had never truly had an adventure with the Doctor before...she was severely shaken right now, she'd just shot the Doctor. Even though she _knew_ it was a Ganger, he knew her mind had gone to what happened the last time she'd 'killed' the Doctor in Berlin.

THAT River needed him more right now.

'_Good luck Riv,_' he called to her before rushing to the controls to go get the younger River.

'_Tell her everything will be alright for me J,_' River replied.

He nodded, rushing to get to his best friend.

~8~

LJ sat across from River, in his dorm room, watching as she stared at the cup of tea in her hand, quiet. Far too quiet. Quieter than he'd _ever_ heard her and that was saying something.

"Riv," he reached out and put a hand on hers, "Dad's fine."

"I _shot_ him," she breathed, her voice cracking.

"The SUIT made you," he reminded her.

"But it was still ME."

"And that was his GANGER."

"It was still HIM though."

He sighed, "River," he said, making her look up at the full use of her name, "You know what's going to happen next yeah?" he asked her as she nodded slowly, "I've bought you time by getting to you first, made my fabulous cup of tea," he nudged her leg with his foot, "Which you'd better enjoy with the Jammie Dodgers now that I think of it, prison food can't be all that great."

"I'm going to prison," she murmured, as though it was_ just_ hitting her.

She knew she would be, ever since she'd me the Teselecta, she knew she was a criminal, she knew she was wanted for killing the Doctor. She'd spent so much time researching him, hoping to find some way to avoid it and even then...HE had had to be the one to do it.

Perhaps this was what she deserved for not being clever enough...

And then a pillow hit her in the face.

"Oi!" she glared at LJ.

"Oi yourself," he shot back at her, "Riv, do you know how _amazing_ you were to play along with that?" he asked her, "To not give anything away, either version of you, the one on the beach included? The Silence...they have NO clue that dad and mum survived and now, what you're willing to do for them...wasting away in prison just to keep their secret. Riv..." he shook his head, "That's more than clever, more than brilliant, that's..._incredible_."

She smiled a bit, about to thank him, when there was a bang on the door, a pounding really. She sighed and glanced back at it, before swallowing and getting up. She walked over to the door and opened it, holding out her hands as they were immediately cuffed and she was led away, to one of the highest security prisons in the universe...Stormcage...

"Oi Riv!" LJ called, grinning at her as he stuck his head out his room when she looked back at him, "Say hi to them for me."

She blinked as he winked before she started smiling, being led away to Stormcage...and the Time Lords.

She should have known they'd come visit her, reassure her, and LJ...he wouldn't abandon her. Not Timegirl, he'd _promised_ her adventures and she couldn't wait to see how he planned on getting her _out _of Stormcage at times to see them.

A/N: Hey! Sorry this is a day late, crazy busy weekend, projects, urg. I know it's a little short too, but...I don't think River really had time to contact LJ during this adventure except when she went to check below the warehouse and had 3 months in America looking for the Silence, she was with Rory in the TARDIS so...I sort of cut out most of that and added in hints of TWORS to make it a nice circle :)

I really have no idea what sort of sequence I'll be starting next :) So I'm open to any suggestions :)


	21. Astrid Peth

Astrid Peth

"Come on Riv!" LJ half-dragged River along by the arm as he pulled her down the busy streets of London circa the modern era.

"J just tell me where we're going," River huffed, "You're as bad with directions as your father, thank God you've got your mum's sense of timing though."

LJ pouted, "I'm not THAT bad!"

River blinked, "You were aiming for London and we ended up on Neptune."

"Well…" he rubbed the back of his neck at that rather large error.

"You tried for the university and we ended up on the formerly Lost Moon of Poosh!"

"But that was…"

"You attempted getting us to Croydon and we ended up in Aberdeen!"

"Oi!" he mock-glared, "Dad did that t…" he trailed off wincing as River lifted a delicate eyebrow and crossed her arms, her point made, "Right…"

He WAS as bad as his father with directions at time.

"So just tell me where we're heading and I'll help get us there," she lifted her wrist to bring up a small holographic map of London on her VM.

LJ sighed, defeated, "Fine. I'm trying to find the Mr. Copper Foundation."

"Ok," she nodded, her curls bouncing as she did so, typing in the information, "Can I ask why?"

"There's someone there I'd like you to meet."

She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed, "Who?"

"It's a surprise," he grinned.

She rolled her eyes as she took the lead, the VM leading them, "The last time you said that you wanted to surprise me and introduce me to someone, we ended up getting run out of Queen Elizabeth's court."

He laughed at that, "But it was fun though!"

She had to smile, it really was.

They turned a corner and stopped short, staring up at the building with 'Mr. Copper' written in the front of it.

LJ closed his eyes and rubbed his face, "Please don't tell me it was right around the corner…"

River smirked, "And you were heading in the opposite direction."

He sighed, shaking his head, before crossing the street and heading in, well, about to head in. LJ stepped to the side, holding the door open for a young woman with brown hair and a red bag to leave, the woman smiling in thanks at him as she left. He smiled, nodding at his good deed, before he entered with River. The shop looked mostly like an electronics shop, various gizmos and gadgets, computers and bits of tech everywhere. But if you looked closely enough, you could see quite a few of the advancements were a bit…well…advanced…for Earth at the current time.

"Hello," a lovely blonde woman at the front desk greeted, "How can I help you?"

LJ grinned as he sauntered up to her, "Hello!"

The woman blinked, "Hello?" before she frowned, eyeing LJ, "Sorry…do I know you?"

"Not me personally no," LJ laughed before pulling River over, "Riv, meet Astrid Peth."

Astrid blinked again, startled he knew her name, she looked down at her name tag, yes it said Astrid, but it didn't say Peth…

"Hello," River smiled, reaching out to shake the startled woman's hand, "I'm River Song, LJ's told me a lot about you."

"He…has?" Astrid frowned, curious.

"Yep!" he beamed, "Sorry, LJ Smith," he shook her hand as well, "You probably know my parents."

Astrid stared at him, waiting for him to explain further, she met a lot of mothers and fathers who wanted a special gift for their children.

River rolled her eyes and whacked LJ on the arm, "The Doctor and Evy," River told the woman.

"OH!" Astrid's eyes widened as she gasped, her hand covering her mouth as she stared at LJ, "You're their…but you're…" she looked him up and down, "But how…"

"Time travel," LJ shrugged, "It's better to just not ask at times."

"Trust me," River nodded, seeing Astrid about to speak again, "It really IS better not to ask otherwise this dunce won't shut up in answering you."

"You wound me Riv," LJ put a hand over the center of his chest in mock-hurt.

"You give me an earache J," she shot back just as quickly.

LJ laughed as Astrid just stared back and forth between them, "Sorry, just wanted to pop in and see how you were. Mum and dad told me about you and I told Riv here and I thought I'd just swing round, meet you for myself."

Astrid smiled, "I'm doing alright, me and Mr. Copper."

"Good, good," he nodded, "Staying out of trouble?"

"Just running a shop," Astrid nodded, "Simple electronics, nothing that's TOO advanced for this day and age, but just on the cusp."

"Brilliant," LJ beamed.

River just looked at Astrid as she smiled at LJ, here was a woman who probably wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Evy's penchant for doing the impossible. LJ had told her the story of Astrid Peth, how his parents had met her on a replica of the _Titanic_, how they'd saved the Earth from being the site of a nuclear disaster, how Astrid had nearly died saving the Time Lords, only for Evy to manage to save her in return. It was an important moment for his parent, she knew, their first adventure as equals, their first adventure as true Time Lords. Yes, Evy always was one, but the Doctor hadn't known at the time, so the Titanic was really their first adventure together without any secrets.

It was an incredible moment and Astrid was an incredible woman to turn down the offer of adventures in the TARDIS to care for the old Mr. Copper.

The bell to the shop rang again and Astrid pulled her gaze away from LJ to the newest customer, a rather frazzled looking boy with a laptop, "Oh sorry," she frowned, "But…work."

They nodded, understanding, and bid her a farewell, "It was brilliant to meet you," LJ smiled at her.

"It really was," River said, sincere.

Astrid beamed at that, "Please tell the Doctor and Evy that I say hello?"

"Of course," LJ nodded.

"And…" Astrid called when they turned to go, "Tell them…thank you."

"No problem," LJ promised, taking River's hand and leading her out.

A/N: It's a little short, probably my second shortes, but…I've worked out the next series I'll be doing. The Alphabet! Each chapter will involve something from DW that starts with the next letter of the alphabet, either a person, place, event, device, really anything from DW…so the length would really depend on what I come up with for each letter. If anyone has any suggestions for the next letter, B, just let me know :) If I get more than one request I'll jot them down and mix them up and pick from bits of paper which will come next :)

Oh, and sorry! I just realized I hadn't answered this in the last chapter, for LJ, I'd say he'd be considered an adult around...500/600? I feel like, physically he'd appear as an adult by 200, but in terms of how his people see him, he'd still be a bit of a child. And...given his personality, I doubt he'd EVER really be considered an adult, look at the Doctor lol :)


	22. Bad Wolf

Bad Wolf

River glanced at LJ as she stood beside him, licking a small ice cream cone as she watched his expression. They were currently on a zoology trip with their latest class, she'd managed to convince LJ to take an archaeology class with her and the current course was about fossils and reconstructing an animal from the bones. Their professor had thought it best that they see a zoo that had used the DNA from the bones to bring the extinct species to life. Of course it wasn't JUST extinct animals and ancient animals, but some famous ones. They'd been allowed to wander away from the group on their own and she and LJ had been determined to see each and every creature…though LJ complained about all of them, how they were wrong, their shading just a hair off, how they were wrong, their size was a bit too small or large, how they were wrong, how the scientists should have been paying more attention during the gestation periods, and, of course, how they were _wrong_, among other things.

She'd tuned him out like she tended to do when he went on a rant or a ramble and focused on eating her ice cream before it melted. Currently they were standing before the wolf exhibit, LJ rather silent, odd it was, him, silent. And…there was this...expression on his face, or a lack of one really, he was just…staring at the wolves like…well, no, there WAS a small frown on his face. It was weird, to see him frowning, he was usually as happy as his father often appeared to be.

There was one thing to be said for LJ, while he _did_ share quite a bit of his parents' memories and their pain over the loss of their planet, he didn't share their guilt. HE hadn't been on the planet, HE hadn't time locked it, and HE hadn't been the one to physically have a role in it, not like his parents. He felt the loss of their home, yes, he missed it even if he hadn't ever actually set foot on it, but…HE hadn't ever been there. He didn't have the burden his parents had of being responsible for their planet…

So what on Earth was he _frowning_ at the_ wolves_ for?

"J?" she called.

But he just stared.

"J."

"Hmm?" he hummed, still staring.

She rolled her eyes, "J!" she punched him on the arm.

"Ow!" he pouted, turning to her, rubbing his arm, "What was THAT for Riv?"

"Ignore me again and I'll use that smack your mum taught me," she warned him, pointing her ice cream at him…

Only for him to lean forward and take a big bite out of it.

"Nice J," she huffed, but continued to eat the ice cream anyway, ice cream was FAR too good to pass up just because of LJ germs.

He just grinned cheekily at her and swallowed, licking his lips, "Can I…" he pointed at the cone.

"No," she glared, pulling her cone back, taking a step back for good measure, and eating it some more, "Now, are you going to pay attention this time?"

He let out a mock-long suffering sigh, his hands in his pockets, bobbing back on his feet a moment, "I suppose…what is it?"

"Why are you staring at the wolves?" she asked, "You're just about an inch away from glaring at them."

"I'm not staring at the wolves."

"Could have fooled me."

"I was THINKING about the wolves, well," he frowned, "About A wolf…the big bad wolf," he murmured that last part.

"From the fairytales?" River shook her head, not following, "What's _that_ got to do with anything?"

He sighed, looking around, before nodding over to the side, leading her to a bench to sit on, waiting till she'd joined him, their view of the wolves still in line, "You remember all those companions of dad's that you've been researching?"

"Yeah?"

"Rose Tyler…"

"Ok?"

He glanced at her, "Have you stumbled across what she was called?"

"Rosie?" she guessed.

"The Bad Wolf," he answered.

River frowned as she thought about it, she hadn't gotten all that far in her research about the companions, more looking at the Doctor and Evy's direct influence in historical events, a companion was there from time to time, a Martha Jones had met Shakespeare, a Donna Noble met Agatha Christie, her mother had met Vincent Van Gogh, and so many more…she knew that those women were like family to LJ, he talked surprisingly a lot about his 'family,' much more freely than his parents, but then again, he wasn't as burdened. He'd grown up with his Aunt Martha and Auntie Donna around, he still _had_ his family. Now that she thought about it, she DID recall a Rose Tyler meeting Queen Victoria…sparking that whole Torchwood thing…

But she really hadn't looked much into them, as far as she knew, LJ promised she'd actually MEET those women, and she'd grown up with her mother, so…there really hadn't been a point.

"And? What about her?"

LJ sighed, sitting back on the bench, his arm moving around the back of it to rest there, not quite around her shoulders, but just…lingering, "She was…close…to dad."

"And your aunts weren't?" River scoffed, hell those women were his AUNTS! Not much closer you could get with Evy there and…

"_Before_ mum," LJ added as though reading her thoughts, "Rose was the companion _before_ dad found mum again," he shook his head, "Imagine it Riv, you just fought a war, you just lost your entire world, and then you meet this little human that's willing to put up with a bitter old you and you have adventures, death-defying adventures, emotions are heightened, and then she risks her life to save you, stops your worst enemies in the process…how do you think you'd feel about her when you regenerate right after that?"

"Attached," River said instantly, before her eyes widened and she nearly dropped her cone as she turned to him, "You're not telling me…the Doctor…"

"Loved her, yeah," he nodded, still staring at the wolves, "Rose loved him too, a lot, and it grew a bit stronger during their travels after he regenerated. But they never said anything and she got trapped in a parallel world. Dad was _devastated_," he let out a small whistle, "If it hadn't been for Auntie Donna he'd have probably let himself drown under the Thames."

"The…Racnoss right?"

"Right. And then he met Aunt Martha and…" he started to smile, "Then he met mum, didn't know she was his Link, didn't even know she was a Time Lady."

"What?!" River stared at him with wide eyes, as though finding out the Doctor had fallen in love with a human wasn't enough of a shock, "How on Earth, no, how in the UNIVERSE did he miss _that_?!"

"She wore a Perception Filter designed to keep aliens from noticing her as one too," he explained, "She didn't _want_ him to know…"

"Why not!?" River shouted, actually starting to feel angry at this Rose woman, EVY was meant to be with the Doctor not Rose, a Time Lady for a Time Lord, that's how it went! "If she'd just let him see her, he'd have…"

"He'd have Linked to her, yeah," he nodded, "And he'd have forgotten about what he felt for Rose. He'd have been FORCED to forget about thos attachments to Rose and everything he felt for her would have just crumbled."

"And that's a BAD thing?"

LJ laughed, "To mum it was. She understood dad was attached to Rose, probably loved her, was devastated to lose her. She didn't want to dishonor Rose's memory, all the things she'd done for dad, how she'd helped him, because she DID help him heal from the war a little bit. She didn't want to replace Rose, she wanted to carve out her own spot in dad's hearts. She didn't want him to want to Link to her or want her around _just_ because she was a Time Lady, she wanted him to want her to stay because he simply wanted her to stay, do you get it?"

"Not a word," she admitted, she could only imagine how lonely the Doctor must have felt to have continued after Rose, not knowing another of his people was there, not knowing his LINK was right next to him. She'd seen the look on LJ's face at times, when Valentine's Day or some other romantic time rolled around, that he looked so...wistful, like he wanted to find his own Link but…and she NEVER brought this up to him…it was more impossible than his mother was.

"She wanted dad to want her around because he liked HER, Evy, not the Time Lady, not his Link, just…_her_," he elaborated, "She didn't want to influence him, she didn't want to push him. If he ever learned she was a Time Lady or his Link, she wanted him to be ready to let go of Rose first. She didn't want to be a replacement, a desperate move for him to feel love again. She didn't want him to rush into it and…"

"She was scared too, wasn't she?" River cut in gently, LJ had told her about the Link, the different directions it could go.

"Oh yeah," he nodded, "There ARE times the Link deviates, one party feels one way and another feels differently. It's rare, but it DID happen. Mum was _terrified_ he'd Link to her and still love Rose, or not feel anything…"

"I get it now," River said, nodding slowly, taking another bite of her ice cream.

"Rose came back, you know."

River's head snapped to the side, "What!?" she half-choked on the ice cream, coughing, "But…" she shook her head, "If she was in a parallel world that should have been impossible! Not even your MUM could do that and…"

"The Crucible."

River let out a breath, she recalled the details of that adventure, the Daleks, she knew that quite a few former companions were there but not the specifics of who. And, now that she thought about it, she really _didn't_ know the specifics of WHEN, exactly, the Doctor HAD Linked to Evy...she'd just assumed they always were. She'd met them in Berlin Linked, quite obviously Linked, and whenever they stopped in they were Linked as well...

"Oh," she nodded, it made sense, with the walls of reality shattering because of the Reality Bomb the Daleks had tried to make, the walls between worlds would have been weaker, "What happened?"

"She got back to dad…right when a Dalek appeared, Emergency Temporal Shifted in. Mum pushed him out of the way, got shot instead, started to regenerate. Uncle Jack showed up, blasted it to pieces, but mum was already too hurt to stop it. They got her into the TARDIS and she put the regeneration energy into dad's hand…"

"His…hand?"

"That's another story," he waved her off, "Anyway, it stopped the regeneration, healed her, but…the Perception Filter was shattered, completely obliterated by the energy. Dad saw her."

"And Linked to her," River frowned, "Right when he found Rose again."

"He'd been falling in love with mum from the start," LJ started to smile again, "Even with the Filter she…intrigued him. She was clever, she was quick, she was brave, she stood up to him and told him what she thought," he laughed, "She slapped him when he was being an idiot, never let him get away with anything, but was always there to comfort him after he found out she was a Time Lady, when the Master died."

River nodded, LJ had told her about the Master being his uncle, his mother's brother, how he'd died, how Evy had regenerated. She'd always just assumed that Evy had met the Doctor, Linked to him, and they'd travelled together. She hadn't known he'd thought her human at first, that, even after she'd regenerated, he STILL hadn't Linked to her…she learned something new every day it seemed.

"Dad started to notice more and more about her," LJ continued, "How brilliant she was, how resilient, how impossible," he laughed, "He'd fallen in love with her and hadn't even realized it. Spent _ages_ trying to work out a way to tell her."

"And then it just sort of worked itself out," River remarked.

"Gotta love regeneration," LJ nodded, "The Filter was broken, dad Linked to mum, and the rest is history."

"But what about Rose?" River steered it back to the topic they'd begun with.

"She um…she didn't believe dad's feelings had changed, even before the Link, not even when she saw his reaction to mum nearly dying a few times. Didn't want to believe he was treating her differently because he _felt_ differently for her. Actually blamed mum, blamed the Link, but mum put her in her place about how SHE felt about dad too. Still though, mum helped her connect to the meta-crisis Doctor, and they dropped her off back in the parallel world. She's still there."

"And your dad's with your mum," River nodded, before frowning, "I don't like the wolves so much now."

"Why?" he frowned at her, while the wolves made _him_ think of 'The Bad Wolf' and Rose, he didn't know why that would make _River_ dislike them.

River just finished off the last of her cone and linked her arm with his, leaning on him as they stared across at the wolves, "If that Rose woman had sunk her claws into the Doctor…YOU wouldn't be here," she reminded him, "I'd be without my best friend, my spaceman."

He smiled, dropping his arm off the back of the bench and around River's shoulders, squeezing her, "And I'd have never met my timegirl."

In the end, it really _was_ a good thing his mum had come around when she had. Any earlier and she'd probably have had to deal with a jealous Rose, any later and those key moments that had helped shape their relationship, like 1913 and the _Valiant_, would never have happened. His mother was an impossible woman, who had done the best in an impossible situation, and found an impossible love from that.

He chuckled a bit, and now both is parents were saddled with a VERY impossible son, oh he was QUITE the handful as a toddler…he wondered vaguely if his baby self, somewhere out there, had started teething yet?

His parents would be in for quite the time when THAT happened.

A/N: ...I can see LJ as a very energetic boy, running laps around the console, pushing random buttons while Evy follows him trying to keep the TARDIS from exploding and the Doctor eggs him on :) There had been some concerns when I had LJ arrive that the Doctor might go domestic...with LJ around, I can guarantee that'll NEVER happen :) That boy is WAY too much like his father :)

Next we get C...oh so many things to choose from :)

Just a quick note about A...Astrid and Clara...you never know :) I wanted to leave it vague enough where, if we never learn who 'the woman in the shop' was, I could stick that in, but if we do (and I can't see it just changing to a different woman) then it's vague enough to be any brunette with a red bag :) I guess we'll have to wait and find out :)


	23. Clara Oswald

Clara Oswald

River Song, soon to be Dr. River Song stood in the library with the rest of the Archaeology majors of Luna University. It was their graduation day and the school segregated the students by major, into different areas so that they could find their seats easier during the ceremony. The Archaeologists were gathered in the library, which was just as well, the Quantum Physics students were in the maths labs all the way on the other side of the school. She was sad, a little bit, that she wouldn't be able to walk in to the ceremony with J at her side, what a way to end an era, with her best friend who made that era as amazing as it was.

But still…knowing J he'd get his timing off and end up running across the school to try and get there in time and barely make it. She hoped, one day, he'd grow out of his father's sense of timing and reach his mother's sense of time.

She snorted, that would be the day.

Oh but she couldn't wait though, it was so exciting, so many years had gone into this and soon enough she'd be done with school and she and J could go out there on their own and have adventures like they always planned. Oh she was buzzing! Spaceman and Timegirl off to see the Universe! Now they just needed transport, though she supposed she had to smirk at that, the Doctor and Evy, well…_J's_ parents, in his timeline, had confided in her a surprise gift for J as a graduation present, a TARDIS of his own! Oh that would be fantastic!

Spaceman and Timegirl, in the TARDIS, next stop everywhere!

Oh she couldn't wait! Oh she was turning into the Doctor wasn't she, worse yet, J, both of them seemed to hate time passing slowly, as it was. Evy was the only one she'd seen of them who had endless patience when it came to time, which made sense as she'd had to live years on Earth as a human.

Still, it should be starting soon and…

"Psst!" she heard someone hiss.

She frowned and looked around, but didn't see anyone, all the other students were talking quietly amongst each other, not really to her, which was just as well, J had destroyed her ability to tolerate stupid people.

"Psst!" she heard the noise again, louder.

She turned around and her eyes widened, "J?!" she whispered, seeing him peeking at her through the bookshelf behind her, "What are you doing here? The ceremony's about to start and…"

J just rushed to the end of the aisle and took her hand, not even seeing her frown at him in confusion as he pulled her down the aisles to the back of the library.

River pulled her hand away, shaking her head, "Who are you?"

J smiled widely, wider than she'd ever seen him smile before, "It's me Riv. Spaceman."

She just stared at him, "No…well, you are, but…you're not MY Spaceman are you?"

He laughed, "Spot on as always Riv."

She scoffed at that, "As always? Just how far into the future _are_ you?" he LOVED arguing with her and pointing out she was half human and wrong.

"Oh a fair bit," he bobbed back onto the heels of his shoes, swaying, still grinning that ridiculous grin that really made her see the idiot of the Doctor in him.

"Ok…" she said slowly, shaking her head, "But why are YOU here? You said you'd always run parallel to me since I apparently don't do that enough with your parents…"

According to HER J, she was always popping up in the wrong order when it came to his parents, so he had decided to tag along with her, help them keep a running idea of her timeline. He'd told her he'd always come parallel to her, in the right order, so…why was he here…unless…

"What's wrong?" she gasped, worried, "Did something happen? Are you ok? The Doctor? Evy? LJ? What happened? Is something wrong?"

He just laughed and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly as he spun her around, half feeling like he'd missed this about her, and half just…too excited and happy for just words, "Riv something is very, _very_ right!" he cheered, spinning her around one more time.

River laughed as he set her back down, "Well what is it?" she looked at him, and he just grinned, "J tell me! I've never seen you this happy before."

"I've never ever _been_ this happy before Riv!" he told her, laughing, sounding like he could barely contain his happiness, "I really haven't ever and it's…" he shook his head, "It's…I mean, it's…I dunno. It's all so…I don't know the word!"

She laughed, eyeing him as he spun in a circle, clearly really very very happy about something, "J just tell me what it is."

He looked at her, taking her hands, "Riv…" he took a breath, "I _found_ her," he whispered, quite unlike his exuberant shouts only moments ago.

She blinked, "Found…who?"

"My Link," he told her, squeezing her hands, "I found her Riv, I found her! She's alive and she's real and she's just…impossible," River watched as his expression grew soft, distant, fond, "My impossible girl."

"Oh my God," River breathed, blinking as she stared at him, "Are you serious, really properly serious?"

He nodded, "She's real Riv…she's real and she's alive."

River smiled, seeing tears in J's eyes. She knew how_ badly _he'd wanted his Link to be alive, how desperately he'd hoped she was out there. She'd seen him push away girl after girl after girl, had seen him be a right old misery at times when everyone else had someone but him, and it seemed like it had all been worth it.

"That's wonderful J!" she hugged him this time.

He laughed as he hugged her again, "I…I just can't believe it Riv," he whispered, pulling away and running a hand through his hair, seeming for all the world like he truly could_ not _believe it had happened.

"What's she like?" River asked, "What's her name? Where was she? How did you…"

He reached out and put a hand to her mouth, "One question at a time Riv," she rolled her eyes and he yanked his hand away, "Dad_ never _should have taught you that," he grumbled, wiping his hand off on his pants.

She smirked, "Tell me!"

He smiled, falling back against the bookshelf behind him, his expression soft as he clearly thought on her, "She's amazing Riv. Just…amazing…"

She gave him a look and whacked him on the arm, "Give me more than that J."

He laughed, crossing his arms, "She's beautiful Riv, and funny, smart. She wears the most adorable outfits, I love her skirts, and her nose is the cutest thing," he blushed a bit, "You should hear how fast she can talk, almost as fast as me. I ran into her once in a market and we just went back and forth bantering…it was only for 5 minutes but…I replayed that moment in my head for ages," he shook his head, "I couldn't get her voice out of my head, or her smile. Oh she's got a beautiful smile Riv. She ran into me, literally, got blue mush all over me but…I didn't even notice because…she looked up at me and her eyes…they just sucked me in."

He let out a laugh, now more lost in thought than ever as River just listened on with a smile, "I seem to have taken a leaf out of your book though, kept running into her in the wrong order. Saw her next, in her timeline, when we were still in school and…"

"When was that?" River cut in, unaware he'd had any adventures without her in school.

He winced, "When you were taking your winter exams, just after you met mum and dad."

Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, tempted to get angry but…far too curious to see what had happened on that adventure with the mystery woman than willing to start an argument, "What happened?"

"Had to save mum and dad and her, she was um, she was their companion," he laughed, "Got to hang around baby me a bunch," he grinned widely, "She thought I was adorable as a baby."

"You were," River nodded, mock-sighing sadly, "Too bad you grew up."

"Oi!" he pouted at her.

She laughed and just whacked him on the arm, "Go on."

"Anyway," he rolled his eyes at her, "She um…sort of fell into my arms," he leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling, recalling that moment, "I swear Riv, it never felt more natural to have a girl there than it did with her. I just…couldn't let her go, I didn't even realize I was just…holding her till dad pointed it out," he was careful not to mention Jack or Jenny, not wanting to give away too many future details, "It just felt…right. I honestly can't remember much of that trip I was so distracted by her," he let out a soft laugh, "She tripped on her dress and landed on my lap at one point, blushed so beautifully and tried to scramble away but I did what dad always did."

"You held her in your arms on your lap," River smiled at him, wishing she could have seen him being so sweet on the girl.

"Yeah," he blushed, rubbing the back of his neck, a bit awkward, which made her laugh, "I should have realized it was her, there was always…just something about her, even as a baby I knew she was special, just…so special…"

He started to smile, seeming very pleased.

"What?" River asked, knowing that expression.

"Nothing, it's just…she's happy," he put a hand to the center of his chest, "Right now, she's really, _really_ happy…and blushing," he laughed, "I can actually feel her happiness,_ I_ made her happy," he shook his head, "It's amazing Riv…" oh to be able to actually feel that! It wasn't like anything he'd ever felt before.

River chuckled lightly, "You can feel her blushing too then?"

"Well," he shook his head, his gaze on something past her shoulder, "I can SEE her blushing."

River blinked and spun around to see a young woman, mid-20s, with brown hair and brown eyes, very cute, but with…a hint of sass to her she could tell, standing there in a plaid dress and black leggings. She felt herself smile, felt tears in her eyes as she saw the girl hadn't even noticed her, her gaze on J. And she knew, that was his Link, even if he wasn't looking at her she could tell, because the girl was looking at J with the same care she'd seen in Evy and the Doctor's eyes, the same love she'd seen in J's eyes just then.

"How are you the Doctor's son Cap'n?" the girl asked, shaking her head lightly at him.

J grinned widely and stepped past River to the girl's side, taking her hand, "I'm also mum's son too," he whispered, kissing her knuckles, before tugging her back to River's side, "Riv," he smiled, "Meet my Link," he laughed, looking at the girl, "I _love_ saying that."

To be able to say that…was just incredible.

"River Song," River held her hand out, knowing when J got distracted, introductions went out the window.

The girl laughed, shaking it, "Clara Oswald."

River nodded, "Like…Evy Daniels?" she wondered.

"Ah, no," J winced, letting go of Clara's hand to drape his arm around her shoulders, "Um…Clara was born human in this life, she was human until a short while ago actually."

River blinked, "How?" if she was born human than she couldn't have even been in a fob watch and that was the only thing she could think of that could explain how a human became a Time Lady. Not even the Vortex could do that, it would destroy them from the inside out, burn them to ashes in seconds.

"You should tell her," Clara nudged J, "You said she told you what happened to me."

He nodded, that was an established event now, if he didn't tell River, she wouldn't be able to tell him then and the timelines would become a right old mess, "We've um, just come from Trenzalore."

River gasped, "Not the battle!"

"No!" he shouted, "No, no, no, no, no, just um…the after-battle."

River stared at him, "You're not telling me the Doctor was stupid enough to break into his own tomb are you?"

"Well…"

"And Evy didn't stop him?!"

"It's not really important Riv," J cut in, "You know I can't say much," he added when she moved to argue, so she sighed, "The time tunnel was in effect," he told her, knowing she knew about the scar his parents' time travel had left on the Universe, she'd written a paper on it for a class once, "And an enemy tried to…"

"He tried to kill the Doctor," Clara continued, looking up at J, seeing how hard it was for him to continue, "It hurt Evy and…it nearly killed the Cap'n," she turned to River, "He was being erased from time."

"Oh my God!" River stared.

"Clar here," J looked down at her softly, "This brave, brilliant, impossible girl…jumped in after him to stop him."

"You didn't," River looked at her, "How could you survive that?!" the time winds alone would have torn her to pieces!

"She um, one of her lives was as a Time Lady, her longest life, her largest piece," J looked at River, serious, and she knew he wouldn't say much, just enough for her to know what she needed to, "When she reformed, her other pieces reformed around it…" he smiled at Clara, "Made her a Time Lady."

"And we Linked," Clara finished with a soft smile of her own, both of them not about to discuss the aftereffect of that, of them Linking moments before she'd...died.

"And I got to save her," J tapped her nose, "Like she saved my parents."

River looked between them, they were just adorable together. And…they fit. They really did. She'd tried to push J towards other girls before, he'd resisted at each turn. And…looking at them now, she almost understood why. She couldn't picture any of those girls beside J as well as Clara fit right then.

And, of course, as his best friend, it was her duty to tease him.

"I'm sorry," she began.

"For what?" J looked at her.

She grinned, and he knew he was in for trouble, "Setting you up on all those dates…"

"What dates?" Clara looked at him.

"And getting all those numbers for you…"

"What numbers?"

"And tripping those girls so they'd fall on you…"

"What girls?!"

J winced, "No one, no girls," he promised Clara, crossing his hearts, "I swear, no girls, not ever."

"And then there was that one boy…" River smirked.

"Riv!" J cried, utterly embarrassed that she'd brought up a nice bloke who thought he wasn't with girls because he was on the other bus.

River laughed and shook her head, turning to Clara, "There were no other girls, really," she reassured the woman, "Lord knows I tried, but he's very stubborn."

Clara smiled a bit, "Yeah, I got that much."

"He never ever made any advances," she wanted to add, really not wanting to cause problems for the newly Linked pair, "Never took any numbers, never went on any dates well…" she paused, "He_ did_ go when I forced him and threatened him, but nothing EVER happened then."

Clara nodded, "I went on a few as well," she had to admit, she couldn't get mad at him for that.

"What?" J looked at her, alarmed, "When was this? What happened? Who were they? What…"

Clara laughed and put a finger to his lips, "Only a small few," she told him, "All blind dates set up by friends, and…" she blushed, looking away, "Nothing _ever_ happened. They were just…they just weren't right."

J smiled, reaching up a hand to take hers, pulling it away from his mouth to kiss her finger, "We should go on a date."

Clara looked at him, "What?"

"Let's go on a date," he grinned, "What do you say?"

Clara blinked, "We just Linked and now you want to date?" she chuckled, "Isn't that a bit out of order?"

"That's him and the Doctor in a nutshell," River shook her head fondly, "Nothing will ever be in the right order again. Life with a time traveler."

J rolled his eyes, "We're really not that bad."

River and Clara exchanged a look before laughing, making him pout.

"Cheer up Cap'n," Clara nudged him, winding her arm around his waist, still surprised by how natural it felt to do that, to just…know what he needed to be comforted and happy.

"And get on with it!" River slapped him on the arm.

"With what?" J looked at her.

"Your date you dunce," River rolled her eyes, "Go! Don't keep your Link waiting!"

J laughed, "Where do you want to go Clar?" he looked at her, "We've got all of space and time."

"Surprise me," she winked at him.

He grinned, already picking the perfect place, Lake District, for some scones, mmm…he loved scones.

River opened her mouth to say something when they heard the school bells chiming in the distance, signaling for all the students to start to head in for the ceremony. She sighed, "I have to go, I don't want to be late for this," she told them.

"I was actually on time you know," J stuck his tongue out at her.

River rolled her eyes, "I'll believe that when I see it," she shot back, before taking a breath and just smiling at them, looking between them, "See you later Spaceman, and it was amazing to meet you Clara," she hugged the girl, "I think I'm going to like you," she added, which made Clara beam in relief, knowing how important River Song was to her Link.

"You can't tell him," J called to her as River turned to leave, "I can't know."

River rolled her eyes, "You're not the only one who knows when to be careful with the timelines Spaceman!"

He laughed, "See you later Timegirl."

They watched as she walked off, out of the room with the rest of her peers, "She's lovely," Clara told him.

He grinned, "She likes you."

"I like her too," Clara smiled.

J beamed, taking her hand and leading her out, ready to start their date. This really was perfect, the best day of his life, not only did he get his Link and his own Impossible Girl, but his best friend, his Timegirl, approved.

A/N: So this chapter followed/picked up from the events of A Trio of Time Lords. This will likely be the only time Clara appears in this series though. I'm putting a poll up on my profile for a spin-off series of J/Link (Clara) to try and pick a title for it :)

In terms of scheduling, for the next month or two, this story and Recollections will be updated on the 10th. (I'll try to get two chapters out a month, but one chapter, at least, will DEFINITELY be up on the 10th). I'm doing this because I plan to post the 2nd spin-off for the Lunar Cycle by the end of the month at which point I'll have 3 spin-offs going on top of my Heart of Time Saga. In about 2 months or so I'll also be adding another spin-off for that saga so I'd have 4 stories going (at which point every spin-off will likely be updated once a month unless I really get inspired). Just to give you all fair warning :)

Now I just have to pick D, lol, I've got about 3 ideas for it (including Donna)... :)

Some notes on reviews...

I'm not sure if we'd get an encounter with Rose and Meta-10, just because they're sealed off and this spin-off is more about J and River :)

The woman in the shop could be Sally, yup :) I really was hoping they'd have answered that in the show. I'm hoping it's not going to be one of those things they mention and forget to go back to :( I want to know! Lol :)

I can say that the J chapter will be Jenny. I have an episode in A Trio of Time Lords where Jenny appears so we see the Doctor and Evy's reaction to that, but the J chapter will be J finding her yup :)


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